CURLYTOPS 
ON  STAK  ISLAND 


•  HOWARD  R.  GARIS  : 


TED  WADED  OUT.  AND  BROUGHT  HIS  SISTER'S  DOLL 

TO  SHORE. 
The  Curlytoft  on  Star  Island  Paae   134 


THE  CURLYTOPS 

ON 

STAR  ISLAND 

OR 

Camping  out  with  Grandpa 


BY 
HOWARD  R.  GARIS 

AUTHOR  OF   "THE  CURLYTOPS  SERIES,"    "BEDTIME 
STORIES,"  "UNCLE  WIGGILY  SERIES,"  ETC. 


Illustrations  by 
JULIA    GREENE 


NEW  YORK 

CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY 


THE  CURLYTOPS  SERIES 
By  HOWARD  R.  GARIS 

I2mo.    Cloth.     Illustrated. 
Price  per  volume,  „.  cents,  net. 

THE  CURLYTOPS  AT  CHERRY  FARM 
Or,  Vacation  Days  in  the  Country 

THE  CURLYTOPS  ON  STAR  ISLAND 

Or,  Camping  Out  With  Grandpa 

THE  CURLYTOPS  SNOWED  IN 

Or,  Grand  Fun  With  Skates  and  Sleds 

THE  CURLYTOPS  AT  UNCLE  FRANK'S 
RANCH 

Or,  Little  Folks  on  Ponyback 


CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY,  New  York 


COPYRIGHT,  1918,  BY 
CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY 


THE  CURLYTOPS  ON  STAR  ISLAND 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  BLUE  LIGHT 1 

II    WHAT  THE  FARMER  TOLD  .    .  14 

III  OFF  TO  STAR  ISLAND  .    ...  32 

IV  OVERBOARD »    .  42 

/ 

V    THE  BAG  OF  SALT    ....  56 
VI    TED  AND  THE  BEAR  ....  67 
VII    JAN  SEES  SOMETHING  ...  78 
VIII    TROUBLE  FALLS  IN   ....  91 
IX    TED  FINDS  A  CAVE    ....  101 
X    THE  GRAPEVINE  SWING    .    .  Ill 
XI    TROUBLE  MAKES  A  CAKE   .    .  123 
XII    THE  CURLYTOPS  Go  SWIM- 
MING     139 

XIII  JAN'S  QUEER  RIDE  ....  157 

XIV  DIGGING  FOR  GOLD  164 


2088246 


Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XV    THE  BIG  HOLE 175 

XVI    A  GLAD  SURPRISE 188 

XVII    TROUBLE'S  PLAYHOUSE  .    .    .  197 

XVIII    IN  THE  CAVE 211 

XIX    THE  BLUE  LIGHT  AaAiN  .    .  224 

XX    THE  HAPPY  TRAMP  .  236 


THE   CURLYTOPS 

ON 

STAR  ISLAND 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  BLUE  LIGHT 

" MOTHER,  make  Ted  stop!" 

"I'm  not  doing  anything  at  all,  Mother!" 

"Yes  he  is,  too !  Please  call  him  in.  He's 
hurting  my  doll. ' ' 

"Oh,  Janet  Martin,  I  am  not!" 

"You  are  so,  Theodore  Baradale  Martin; 
and  you 'YC  just  got  to  stop!" 

Janet,  or  Jan,  as  she  was  more  often 
called,  stood  in  front  of  her  brother  with 
flashing  eyes  and  red  cheeks. 

'  *  Chil  dren !  Children !  What  are  you  do- 
ing now?"  asked  their  mother,  appearing  in 
the  doorway  of  the  big,  white  farmhouse, 
holding  in  her  arms  a  small  boy.  "Please 
don't  make  so  much  noise.  I've  just  gotten 
Baby  William  to  sleep,  and  if  he  wakes 


2  The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Yes,  don't  wake  up  Trouble,  Jan,"  added 
Theodore,  or  Ted,  the  shorter  name  being  the 
one  by  which  he  was  most  often  called.  "If 
you  do  he'll  want  to  come  with  us,  and  we 
can't  make  Nicknack  race." 

"I  wasn't  waking  him  up,  it  was  you!" 
exclaimed  Jan.  i  l  He  keeps  pulling  my  doll 's 
legs,  Mother  and ' 

"I  only  pulled  'em  a  little  bit,  just  to  see  if 
they  had  any  springs  in  'em.  Jan  said  her 
doll  was  a  circus  lady  and  could  jump  on  the 
back  of  a  horse.  I  wanted  to  see  if  she  had 
any  springs  in  her  legs." 

"Well,  I'm  pretending  she  has,  so  there, 
Ted  Martin !  And  if  you  don't  stop— 

"There  now,  please  stop,  both  of  you,  and 
be  nice,"  begged  Mrs.  Martin.  "I  thought, 
since  you  had  your  goat  and  wagon,  you 
could  play  without  having  so  ^  much  fuss. 
But,  if  you  can't " 

"Oh,  we'll  be  good!"  exclaimed  Ted,  run- 
ning his  hands  through  his  tightly  curling 
hair,  but  not  taking  any  of  the  kinks  out  that 
way.  "We'll  be  good.  I  won't  tease  Jan 
anymore." 

"You'd  better  not!"  warned  his  sister, 
and,  though  she  was  a  year  younger  than 
Ted,  she  did  not  seem  at  all  afraid  of  him. 


The  Blue  Light 


"If  you  do  I'll  take  my  half  of  the  goat  away 
and  you  can't  ride." 

"Pooh !   Which  is  your  half  ?"  asked  Ted. 

"The  wagon.  And  if  you  don't  have  the 
wagon  to  hitch  Nicknack  to,  how 're  you  go- 
ing to  ride?" 

"Huh!  I  could  ride  on  his  back.  Take 
your  old  wagon  if  you  want  to,  but  if  you 
do " 

"  The-o-dore ! "  exclaimed  his  mother  in  a 
slow,  warning  voice,  and  when  he  heard  his 
name  spoken  in  that  way,  with  each  syllable 
pronounced  separately,  Ted  knew  it  was 
time  to  haul  down  his  quarreling  colors  and 
behave.  He  did  it  this  time. 

"I— I'm  sorry,"  he  faltered.  "I  didn't 
mean  that,  Jan.  I  won 't  pull  your  doll 's  legs 
any  more. ' ' 

"And  I  won't  take  the  goat- wagon  away. 
We'll  both  go  for  a  ride  in  it." 

' t  That 's  the  way  to  have  a  good  time, ' '  said 
Mrs.  Martin,  with  a  smile.  "Now  don't 
make  any  more  noise,  for  William  is  fussy. 
Run  off  and  play  now,  but  don't  go  too  far. " 

' '  We  '11  go  for  a  ride, ' '  said  Teddy.  ' '  Come 
on,  Jan.  You  can  let  your  doll  make-believe 
drive  the  goat  if  you  want  to." 

"Thank  you,  Teddy.    But  I  guess  I'd  bet- 


ter  not.  I  '11  pretend  she 's  a  Red  Cross  nurse 
and  I'm  taking  her  to  the  hospital  to  work." 

"Then  we'll  make-believe  the  goat- wagon 
is  an  ambulance!"  exclaimed  Ted.  "And 
I'm  the  driver  and  I  don't  mind  the  big 
guns.  Come  on,  that  '11  be  fun ! ' ' 

Filled  with  the  new  idea,  the  two  children 
hurried  around  the  side  of  the  farmhouse 
out  toward  the  barn  where  Nicknack,  their 
pet  goat,  was  kept.  Mrs.  Martin  smiled  as 
she  saw  them  go. 

"Well,  there'll  be  quiet  for  a  little  while," 
she  said,  "and  William  can  have  his  sleep." 

"What's  the  matter,  Ruth?"  asked  an  old 
gentleman  coming  up  the  walk  just  then. 
"Have  the  Curlytops  been  getting  into  mis- 
chief again?" 

"No.  Teddy  and  Janet  were  just  having 
one  of  their  little  quarrels.  It's  all  over 
now.  You  look  tired,  Father." 

Grandpa  Martin  was  Mrs.  Martin's  hus- 
band's father,  but  she  loved  him  as  though 
he  were  her  own. 

"Yes,  I  am  tired.  I've  been  working 
pretty  hard  on  the  farm,"  said  Grandpa 
Martin,  "but  I'm  going  to  rest  a  bit  now. 
Want  me  to  take  Trouble?"  he  asked  as  he 
saw  the  little  boy  in  his  mother's  arms.  Baby 


The  Blue  Light 


William  was  called  Trouble  because  he  got 
into  so  much  of  it. 

"No,  thank  you.  He's  asleep,"  said 
Mother  Martin.  "But  I  do  wish  you  could 
find  some  way  to  keep  Ted  and  Jan  from 
disputing  and  quarreling  so  much." 

"Oh,  they  don't  act  half  as  bad  as  lots  of 
children." 

"No,  indeed!  They're  very  good,  I 
think,"  said  Grandma  Martin,  coming  to  the 
door  with  a  patch  of  flour  on  the  end  of  her 
nose,  for  it  was  baking  day,  as  you  could 
easily  have  told  had  you  come  anywhere  near 
the  big  kitchen  of  the  white  house  on  Cherry 
Farm. 

"They  need  to  be  kept  busy  all  the  while," 
said  Grandpa  Martin.  "It's  been  a  little 
slow  for  them  here  this  vacation  since  we  got 
in  the  hay  and  gathered  the  cherries.  I  think 
I'll  have  to  find  some  new  way  for  them  to 
have  fun." 

"I  didn't  know  there  was  any  new  way," 
said  Mother  Martin  with  a  laugh,  as  she 
carried  Baby  William  into  the  bedroom  and 
came  back  to  sit  on  the  porch  with  Grandpa 
and  Grandma  Martin. 

"Oh,  yes,  there  are  lots  of  new  ways.  I 
haven't  begun  to  think  of  them  yet,"  said 


6  The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

Grandpa  Martin.  "I'm  going  to  have  a  few 
weeks  now  with  not  very  much  to  do  until 
it 's  time  to  gather  the  fall  crops,  and  I  think 
I  '11  try  to  find  some  way  of  giving  your 
Curlytops  a  good  time.  Yes,  that's  what  I '11 
do.  I'll  keep  the  Curlytops  so  busy  they 
won't  have  a  chance  to  think  of  pulling  dolls' 
legs  or  taking  Nicknack,  the  goat,  away  from 
his  wagon." 

"  What  are  you  planning  to  do,  Father  V ' 
asked  Grandma  Martin  of  her  husband. 

"Well,  I  promised  to  take  them  camping 
on  Star  Island  you  know." 

"What!  Not  those  two  little  tots — not 
Ted  and  Jan?"  cried  Grandma  Martin, 
looking  up  in  surprise. 

"Yes,  indeed,  those  same  Curlytops!" 

It  was  easy  to  understand  why  Grandpa 
Martin,  as  well  as  nearly  everyone  else, 
called  the  two  Martin  children  Curlytops.  It 
was  because  their  hair  was  so  tightly  curling 
to  their  heads.  Once  Grandma  Martin  lost 
her  thimble  in  the  hair  of  one  of  the  children, 
and  their  locks  were  curled  so  nearly  alike 
that  she  never  could  remember  on  whose 
head  she  found  the  needle-pusher. 

"Do  you  think  it  will  be  safe  to  take  Ted 
and  Jan  camping?"  asked  Mother  Martin. 


The  Blue  Light 


"Why,  yes.  There's  no  finer  place  in  the 
country  than  Star  Island.  And  if  you  go 
along " 

"Am  I  to  go?"  asked  Ted's  mother. 

"Of  course.  And  Trouble,  too.  It'll  do 
you  all  good.  I  wish  Dick  could  come,  too," 
went  on  Grandpa  Martin,  speaking  of  Ted's 
father,  who  had  gone  from  Cherry  Farm  for 
a  few  days  to  attend  to  some  matters  at  a 
store  he  owned  in  the  town  of  Cresco.  "But 
Dick  says  he'll  be  too  busy.  So  I  guess  the 
Curlytops  will  have  to  go  camping  with 
grandpa,"  added  the  farmer,  smiling. 

"Well,  I'm  sure  they  couldn't  have  better 
fun  than  to  go  with  you,"  replied  Mother 
Martin.  "But  I'm  not  sure  that  Baby 
William  and  I  can  go." 

"Oh,  yes  you  can,"  said  her  father-in-law. 
"We'll  talk  about  it  again.  But  here  come 
Ted  and  Jan  now  in  the  goat-cart.  They 
seem  to  have  something  to  ask  you.  We'll 
talk  about  the  camp  later." 

Teddy  and  Janet  Martin,  the  two  Curly- 
tops,  came  riding  up  to  the  farmhouse  in  a 
small  wagon  drawn  by  a  fine,  big  goat,  that 
they  had  named  Mcknack. 

"Please,  Mother,"  begged  Ted,  "may  we 
ride  over  to  the  Home  and  get  Hal  ?" 


8  The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"We  promised  to  take  him  for  a  ride," 
added  Jan. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  you  may  go,"  said  Mother 
Martin.  "But  you  must  be  careful,  and  be 
home  in  time  for  supper." 

"We  will,"  promised  Ted.  "We'll  go  by 
the  wood-road,  and  then  we  won't  get  run 
over  by  any  automobiles.  They  don't  come 
on  that  road." 

"All  right.  Now  remember — don't  stay 
too  late." 

"No,  we  won't  I"  chorused  the  two  chil- 
dren, and  down  the  garden  path  and  along 
the  lane  they  went  to  a  road  that  led  through 
Grandpa  Martin's  wood-lot  and  so  on  to  the 
Home  for  Crippled  Children,  which  was 
about  a  mile  from  Cherry  Farm. 

Among  others  at  the  Home  was  a  lame 
boy  named  Hal  Chester.  That  is,  he  had 
been  lame  when  the  Curlytops  first  met  him 
early  in  the  summer,  but  he  was  almost  cured 
now,  and  walked  with  only  a  little  limp.  The 
Home  had  been  built  to  cure  lame  children, 
and  had  helped  many  of  them. 

Half-way  to  the  big  red  building,  which 
was  like  a  hospital,  the  Curlytops  met  Hal. 
the  very  boy  whom  they  had  started  o^t 
to  see. 


The  Blue  Light 9 

"Hello,  Hal!"  cried  Ted.  "Get  in  and 
have  a  ride." 

"Thanks,  I  will.  I  was  just  coming  over 
to  see  you,  anyway.  What  are  you  two  go- 
ing to  do?" 

"Nothing  much,"  Ted  answered,  while 
Jan  moved  along  the  seat  with  her  doll,  to 
make  room  for  Hal.  "What 're  you  going 
to  do?" 

"Same  as  you." 

The  three  children  laughed  at  that. 

"Let's  ride  along  the  river  road,"  sug- 
gested Janet.  '  *  It  11  be  nice  and  shady  there, 
and  if  my  Bed  Cross  doll  is  going  to  the  war 
she'll  like  to  be  cool  once  in  a  while." 

"Is  your  doll  a  Red  Cross  nurse?"  asked 
Hal.  * '  If  she  is,  where 's  her  cap  and  the  red 
cross  on  her  arm?" 

"Oh,  she  just  started  to  be  a  nurse  a  little 
while  ago, ' '  Jan  explained.  '  *  I  haven 't  had 
time  to  make  the  red  cross  yet.  But  I  will. 
Anyhow,  let's  go  down  by  the  river." 

"All  right,  we  will,"  agreed  Ted.  "We'll 
see  if  we  can  get  some  sticks  off  the  willow 
trees  and  make  whistles,"  he  added  to  Hal. 

"You  can  make  better  whistles  in  the 
spring,  when  the  bark  is  softer,  than  you 
can  now,"  said  the  lame  boy,  as  the  Curly- 


10          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

tops  often  called  him,  though  Hal  was  nearly 
cured. 

"Well,  maybe  we  can  make  some  now," 
suggested  Ted,  and  a  little  later  the  two  boys 
were  seated  in  the  shade  under  the  willow 
trees  that  grew  on  the  bank  of  a  small  river 
which  flowed  into  Clover  Lake,  not  far  from 
Cherry  Farm.  Nicknack,  tied  to  a  tree,  nib- 
bled the  sweet,  green  grass,  and  Jan  made  a 
wreath  of  buttercups  for  her  doll. 

After  they  had  made  some  whistles,  which 
did  give  out  a  little  tooting  sound,  Ted  and 
Hal  found  something  else  to  do,  and  Jan 
saw,  coming  along  the  road,  a  girl  named 
Mary  Seaton  with  whom  she  often  played. 
Jan  called  Mary  to  join  her,  and  the  two 
little  girls  had  a  good  time  together  while 
Ted  and  Hal  threw  stones  at  some  wooden 
boats  they  made  and  floated  down  the 
stream. 

"Oh,  Ted,  we  must  go  home!"  suddenly 
cried  Jan.  "  It 's  getting  dark  1 ' ' 

The  sun  was  beginning  to  set,  but  it  would 
not  really  have  been  dark  for  some  time, 
except  that  the  western  sky  was  filled  with 
clouds  that  seemed  to  tell  of  a  coming  storm. 
So,  really,  it  did  appear  as  though 
were  at  hand. 


The  Blue  Light JU 

"I  guess  we'd  better  go,"  Ted  said,  with 
a  look  at  the  dark  clouds.  "Come  on,  Hal. 
There's  room  for  you,  too,  Mary,  in  the 
wagon." 

"Can  Mcknack  pull  us  all?"  Mary  asked. 

"I  guess  so.  It's  mostly  downhill.  Come 
on!" 

The  four  children  got  into  the  goat- wagon, 
and  if  Nicknack  minded  the  bigger  load  he 
did  not  show  it,  but  trotted  off  rather  fast. 
Perhaps  he  knew  he  was  going  home  to  his 
stable  where  he  would  have  some  sweet  hay 
and  oats  to  eat,  and  that  was  what  made  him 
so  glad  to  hurry  along. 

The  wagon  was  stopped  near  the  Home 
long  enough  to  let  Hal  get  out,  and  a  little 
later  Mary  was  driven  up  to  her  gate.  Then 
Ted  and  Jan,  with  the  doll  between  them, 
drove  on. 

"Oh,  Ted!"  exclaimed  his  sister,  "moth- 
er'11  scold.  We  oughtn't  to  have  stayed  so 
late.  It's  past  supper  time!" 

"We  didn't  mean  to.  Anyhow,  I  guess 
they'll  give  us  something  to  eat.  Grandma 
baked  cookies  to-day  and  there'll  be  some 
left." 

"I  hope  so,"  replied  Jan  with  a  sigh. 
"I'm  hungry!" 


12          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

They  drove  on  in  silence  a  little  farther, 
and  then,  as  they  came  to  the  top  of  a  hill 
and  could  look  down  toward  Star  Island  in 
the  middle  of  Clover  Lake,  Ted  suddenly 
called : 

"Look,  Jan!" 

"Where?"  she  asked. 

"Over  there,"  and  her  brother  pointed  to 
the  island.  '  *  Do  you  see  that  blue  light  ? ' ' 

"On  the  island,  do  you  mean?  Yes,  I 
see  it.  Maybe  somebody's  there  with  a 
lantern." 

"Nobody  lives  on  Star  Island.  Besides, 
who'd  have  a  blue  lantern?" 

Jan  did  not  answer. 

It  was  now  quite  dark,  and  down  in  the 
lake,  where  there  was  a  patch  of  black  which 
was  Star  Island,  could  be  seen  a  nickering 
blue  glow,  that  seemed  to  stand  still  and  then 
move  about. 

"Maybe  it's  lightning  bugs,"  suggested 
Jan. 

"Huh!  Fireflies  are  sort  of  white,"  ex- 
claimed Ted.  "I  never  saw  a  light  like  that 
before." 

"Me,  either,  Ted!  Hurry  up  home.  Gid- 
dap,  Nicknack!"  and  Jan  threw  at  the  goat 
a  pine  cone,  one  of  several  she  had  picked 


The  Blue  Light 13 

up  and  put  in  the  wagon  when  they  were 
taking  a  rest  in  the  woods  that  afternoon. 

Nicknack  gave  a  funny  little  wiggle  to  his 
tail,  which  the  children  could  hardly  see  in 
the  darkness,  and  then  he  trotted  on  faster. 
The  Curlytops,  looking  back,  had  a  last 
glimpse  of  the  flickering  blue  light  as  they 
hurried  toward  Cherry  Farm,  and  they  were 
a  little  frightened. 

"What  do  you  s'pose  it  is  ?"  asked  Jan. 

"I  don't  know/1  answered  Ted.  "Well 
ask  Grandpa.  Go  on,  Nicknack!" 


CHAPTER  II 

WHAT  THE  FARMER  TOLD 

"WELL,  where  in  the  world  have  you  chil- 
dren been?" 

"Didn't  you  know  we'd  be  worried  about 
you?" 

"Did  you  get  lost  again?" 

Mother  Martin,  Grandpa  Martin  and 
Grandma  Martin  took  turns  asking  these 
three  questions  as  Ted  and  Jan  drove  up  to 
the  farmhouse  in  the  darkness  a  little  later. 

"You  said  you  wouldn't  stay  late,"  went 
on  Mother  Martin,  as  the  Curlytops  got  out 
of  the  goat- wagon. 

"We  didn't  mean  to,  Mother,"  said  Ted. 

1 1  Oh,  but  we  're  so  scared ! ' '  exclaimed  Jan, 
and  as  Grandma  Martin  put  her  arms  about 
the  little  girl  she  felt  Jan's  heart  beating 
faster  than  usual. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter  ?"  asked  the  old 
lady. 

14 


What  the  Farmer  Told 15 

"Me  wants  a  wide  wif  Nicknack!"  de- 
manded Baby  William,  as  he  stood  beside 
his  mother  in  the  doorway. 

"No,  Trouble.  Not  now,"  answered  Ted. 
"Nicknack  is  tired  and  has  to  have  his  sup- 
per. Is  there  any  supper  left  for  us?"  he 
asked  eagerly. 

"Well,  I  guess  we  can  find  a  cold  potato, 
or  something  like  it,  for  such  tramps  as 
you,"  laughed  Grandpa  Martin.  "But 
where  on  earth  have  you  been,  and  what  kept 
you?" 

Then  Ted  put  Nicknack  in  the  barn.  But 
when  he  came  back  he  and  Jan  between  them 
told  of  having  stayed  playing  later  than  they 
meant  to. 

"Well,  you  got  home  only  just  in  time," 
said  Mother  Martin  as  she  took  the  children 
to  the  dining-room  for  a  late  supper.  "It's 
starting  to  rain  now." 

And  so  it  was,  the  big  drops  pelting  down 
and  splashing  on  the  windows. 

"But  what  frightened  you,  Jan?"  asked 
Grandma  Martin. 

"It  was  a  queer  blue  light  on  Star 
Island." 

"A  light  on  Star  Island!"  exclaimed  her 
grandfather.  "Nonsense!  Nobody  stays  on 


16 


the  island  after  dark  unless  it's  a  fisherman 
or  two,  and  the  fish  aren't  biting  well  enough 
now  to  make  anyone  stay  late  to  try  to  catch 
them.  You  must  have  dreamed  it — or  made- 
believe." 

1 1  No,  we  really  saw  it ! "  declared  Ted.  '  '  It 
was  a  fliskering  blue  light." 

4 'Well,  if  there's  any  such  thing  there  as 
a  ' fliskering '  blue  light  we'll  soon  find  out 
what  it  is,"  said  Grandpa  Martin. 

"How?"  asked  Ted,  his  eyes  wide  open  in 
wonder. 

1  'By  going  there  to  see  what  it  is.  I'm 
going  to  take  you  two  Curlytops  to  camp  on 
Star  Island,  and  if  there's  anything  queer 
there  we'll  see  what  it  is." 

"Oh,  are  we  really  going  to  live  on  Star 
Island?"  gasped  Janet. 

"Camping  out  with  grandpa!  Oh,  what 
fun ! ' '  cried  Ted.  ' '  Do  you  mean  it  1 "  and  he 
looked  anxiously  at  the  farmer,  fearing 
there  might  be  some  joke  about  it. 

"Oh,  I  really  mean  it,"  said  Grandpa 
Martin.  "Though  I  hardly  believe  you  saw 
a  real  light  on  the  island.  It  must  have 
been  a  firefly." 

"Lightning  bugs  aren't  that  color,"  de- 
clared Ted.  "It  was  a  blue  light,  almost  like 


What  the  Farmer  Told 17 

.Fourth  of  July.  But  tell  us  about  camping, 
Grandpa!" 

"Yes,  please  do,"  begged  Jan. 

And  while  the  children  are  eating  their 
late  supper,  and  Grandpa  Martin  is  telling 
them  his  plans,  I  will  stop  just  a  little  while 
to  make  my  new  readers  better  acquainted 
with  the  Curlytops  and  their  friends. 

You  have  already  met  Theodore,  or  Teddy 
or  Ted,  Martin,  and  his  sister  Janet,  or  Jan. 
With  their  mother,  they  were  spending  the 
long  summer  vacation  on  Cherry  Farm,  the 
country  home  of  Grandpa  Martin  outside 
the  town  of  Elmburg,  near  Clover  Lake.  Mr. 
Richard  Martin,  or  Dick,  as  Grandpa  Mar- 
tin called  him,  owned  a  store  in  Cresco, 
where  he  lived  with  his  family.  Besides  Ted 
and  Jan  there  was  Baby  William,  aged 
about  three  years.  He  was  called  Trouble, 
for  the  reason  I  have  told  you,  though 
Mother  Martin  called  him  "Dear  Trouble" 
to  make  up  for  the  fun  Ted  and  Jan  some- 
times poked  at  him. 

Then  there  was  Nora  Jones,  the  maid  who 
helped  Mrs.  Martin  with  the  cooking  and 
housework.  And  I  must  not  forget  Sky- 
rocket, a  dog,  nor  Turnover,  a  cat.  These 
did  not  help  with  the  housework — though  I 


18          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

suppose  u  might  say  they  did,  too,  in  a 
way,  for  they  ate  the  scraps  from  the  table 
and  this  helped  to  save  work. 

In  the  first  book  of  this  series,  called  "The 
Curlytops  at  Cherry  Farm/'  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  telling  you  how  Jan  and  Ted,  with 
their  father,  mother  and  Nora  went  to 
grandpa's  place  in  the  country  to  spend  the 
happy  vacation  days.  On  the  farm,  which 
was  named  after  the  number  of  cherry  trees 
on  it,  the  Curlytops  found  a  stray  goat 
which  they  were  allowed  to  keep,  and  they 
got  a  wagon  which  Nicknack  (the  name  they 
gave  their  new  pet)  drew  with  them  in  it. 

Having  the  goat  made  up  for  having  to 
leave  the  dog  and  the  cat  at  home,  and  Nick- 
nack  made  lots  of  good  times  for  Ted  and 
Jan.  In  the  book  you  may  read  of  the  worry 
the  children  carried  because  Grandpa  Mar- 
tin had  lost  money  on  account  of  a  flood  at 
his  farm,  and  so  could  not  help  when  there 
was  a  fair  and  collection  for  the  Crippled 
Children's  Home. 

But,  most  unexpectedly,  the  cherries 
helped  when  Mr.  Sam  Sander,  the  lollypop 
man,  bought  them  from  Grandpa  Martin, 
and  found  a  way  of  making  them  into 
candy.  And  when  Ted  and  Jan  and  Trouble 


What  the  Farmer  Told 19 

were  lost  in  the  woods  once,  the  lollypop 
man 

But  I  think  you  would  rather  read  the 
story  for  yourself  in  the  other  book.  I  will 
just  say  that  the  Curlytops  were  still  at 
Cherry  Farm,  though  Father  Martin  had 
gone  away  for  a  little  while.  And  now,  hav- 
ing told  you  about  the  family,  I'll  go  back 
where  I  left  off,  and  well  see  what  is  hap- 
pening. 

"Yes,"  said  Grandpa  Martin,  "I  think  I 
will  take  you  Curlytops  to  camp  on  Star 
Island.  Camping  will  do  you  good.  You'll 
learn  lots  in  the  woods  there.  And  won't  it 
be  fun  to  live  in  a  tent?" 

"Oh,  won't  it  though!"  cried  Ted,  and  the 
shine  in  Jan's  eyes  and  the  glow  on  her  red 
cheeks  showed  how  happy  she  was. 

"But  I'd  like  to  know  what  that  blue  light 
was,"  said  the  little  girl. 

"Oh,  don't  worry  about  that!"  laughed 
Grandpa  Martin.  "I'll  get  that  blue  light 
and  hang  it  in  our  tent  for  a  lantern. " 

I  think  I  mentioned  that  Jan  and  Ted  had 
such  wonderful  curling  hair  that  even  stran- 
gers, seeing  them  the  first  time,  called  them 
the  "Curlytops."  And  Ted,  who  was  aged 
seven  years,  with  his  sister  just  a  year 


?0          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

younger  (their  anniversaries  coming  on 
exactly  the  same  day)  did  not  in  the  least 
mind  being  called  this.  He  and  Jan  rather 
liked  it. 

"Let's  don't  go  to  bed  yet,"  said  Jan  to 
her  brother,  as  they  finished  supper  and 
went  from  the  dining-room  into  the  sitting- 
room,  where  they  were  allowed  to  play  and 
have  good  times  if  they  did  not  get  too 
rough.  And  they  did  not  often  do  this. 

"All  right.  It  is  early,"  Ted  agreed. 
"But  what  can  we  do?" 

"Let's  pretend  we  have  a  camp  here," 
went  on  Jan. 

"Where?"  asked  Ted. 

"Right  in  the  sitting-room,"  answered 
Jan.  "We  can  make-believe  the  couch  is  a 
tent,  and  we  can  crawl  under  it  and  go  to 
sleep." 

"I  wants  to  go  to  sleeps  there!"  cried 
Trouble.  "I  wants  to  go  to  sleeps  right 
now!" 

"Shall  we  take  him  back  to  mother?" 
asked  Ted,  looking  at  his  sister.  "If  he's 
sleepy  now  he  won't  want  to  play." 

"I  isn't  too  sleepy  to  play,"  objected 
Baby  William.  "I  can  go  to  sleeps  under 
couch  if  you  wants  me  to,"  he  added. 


What  the  Farmer  Told 21 

"Oh,  that'll  be  real  cute!"  cried  Janet. 
"Come  on,  Ted,  let's  do  it!  We  can  make- 
believe  Trouble  is  our  little  dog,  or  some- 
thing like  that,  to  watch  over  our  tent,  and 
he  can  go  to  sleep " 

"Huh!  how's  he  going  to  watch  if  he  goes 
to  sleep?"  Ted  demanded. 

"Oh,  well,  he  can  make-believe  go  to  sleep 
or  make-believe  watch,  either  one,"  ex- 
plained Janet. 

"Yes,  I  s'pose  he  could  do  that,"  agreed 
Teddy. 

Baby  William  opened  his  mouth  wide  and 
yawned. 

"I  guess  he'll  do  some  real  sleeping,"  said 
Janet  with  a  laugh.  "Come  on,  Trouble, 
before  you  get  your  eyes  so  tight  shut  you 
can't  open  'em  again.  Come  on,  we'll  play 
camping!"  and  she  led  the  way  into  the  sit- 
ting room  and  over  toward  the  big  couch  at 
one  end. 

Many  a  good  time  the  children  had  had  in 
this  room,  and  the  old  couch,  pretty  well  bat- 
tered and  broken  now,  had  been  in  turn  a 
fort,  a  steamboat,  railroad  car,  and  an  auto- 
mobile. That  was  according  to  the  particu- 
lar make-believe  game  the  children  were 
pXying.  Now  the  old  couch  was  to  be  a  tent, 


and  Jan  and  Ted  moved  some  chairs,  which 
would  be  part  of  the  pretend-camp,  up  in 
front  of  it. 

"It'll  be  a  lot  of  fun  when  we  go  camping 
for  real,"  said  Teddy,  as  he  helped  his  sister 
spread  one  of  Grandma  Martin's  old  shawls 
over  the  backs  of  some  chairs.  This  was  to 
be  a  sort  of  second  tent  where  they  could 
make-believe  cook  their  meals. 

"Yes,  well  have  grand  fun,"  agreed  Jan. 
"No,  you  mustn't  go  to  sleep  up  there, 
Trouble!"  she  called  to  the  little  fellow,  for 
he  had  crawled  up  on  top  of  the  couch  and 
had  stretched  himself  out  as  though  to  take 
a  nap. 

"Why? "he  asked. 

"  'Cause  the  tent  part  is  under  it,"  ex- 
plained his  sister.  "That's  the  top  of  the 
tent  where  you  are.  You  can't  go  to  sleep 
on  top  of  a  tent.  You  might  fall  off ." 

"I  can  fall  off  now!"  announced  Trouble, 
as  he  suddenly  thought  of  something.  Then 
he  gave  a  wiggle  and  rolled  off  the  seat, 
bumping  into  Ted,  who  had  stooped  down  to 
put  a  rug  under  the  couch-tent. 

"Ouch!"  cried  Ted.  "Look  out  what 
you're  doing,  Trouble!  You  bumped  my 
head." 


What  the  Farmer  Told 23 

"I — I  bumped  my  head!"  exclaimed  the 
little  fellow,  rubbing  his  tangled  hair. 

"He  didn't  mean  to,"  said  Janet.  "You 
mustn't  roll  off  that  way,  Trouble.  You 
might  be  hurt.  Come  now,  go  to  sleep  under 
the  couch.  That's  inside  the  tent  you 
know." 

She  showed  him  where  Ted  had  spread 
the  rug,  as  far  back  under  the  couch  as  he 
could  reach,  and  this  looked  to  Trouble  like 
a  nice  place. 

"I  go  to  sleeps  in  there!"  he  said,  and 
under  the  couch  he  crawled,  growling  and 
grunting. 

"What  are  you  doing  that  for?"  asked 
Ted,  in  some  surprise. 

"I's  a  bear!"  exclaimed  Baby  William. 
"I's  a  bad  bear!  Burr-r-r-r!"  and  he 
growled  again. 

"Oh,  you  mustn't  do  that!"  objected 
Janet.  "We  don't  want  any  bears  in  our 
camp!" 

"Course  we  can  have  'em!"  cried  Ted. 
"That'll  be  fun!  We'll  play  Trouble  is  a 
bear  'stead  of  a  dog,  and  I  can  hunt  him. 
Only  I  ought  to  have  something  for  a  gun. 
I  know!  I'll  get  grandpa's  Sunday  cane!" 
and  he  started  for  the  hall. 


24          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Oh,  no.  I  don't  want  to  play  bear  and 
hunting!"  objected  Janet. 

"Why  not?" 

"  'Cause  it's  too — too — scary  at  night. 
Let's  play  something  nice  and  quiet.  Let 
Trouble  be  our  watch  dog,  and  we  can  be  in 
camp  and  he  can  bark  and  scare  some- 
thing." 

"What'll  he  scare?"  asked  Ted. 

Meanwhile  Baby  William  was  crawling  as 
far  back  under  the  couch  as  he  could,  growl- 
ing away,  though  whether  he  was  pretend- 
ing to  be  a  bear,  a  lion  or  only  a  dog  no  one 
knew  but  himself. 

"What  do  you  want  him  to  scare?"  asked 
Ted  of  his  sister. 

"Oh — oh — well,  chickens,  maybe!"  she  an- 
swered. 

' '  Pooh !  Chickens  aren  't  any  fun ! ' '  cried 
Ted.  "If  Trouble  is  going  to  be  a  dog  let 
him  scare  a  wild  bull,  or  something  like  that. 
Anyhow  chickens  don't  come  to  camp." 

"Well,  neither  does  wild  bulls!"  declared 
Janet. 

"Yes,  they  do!"  cried  Ted,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  there  would  be  so  much  talk  that  the 
children  would  never  get  to  playing  any- 
thing. "Don't  you  'member  how  daddy  told 


What  the  Farmer  Told 25 

us  about  going  camping,  and  in  the  night  a 
wild  bull  almost  knocked  down  the  tent/' 

"Well,  that  was  real,  but  this  is  only 
make-believe/'  said  Janet.  "Let  Trouble 
scare  the  chickens." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Ted,  who  was  nearly 
always  kind  to  his  sister.  "Go  on  and 
growl,  Trouble.  You're  a  dog  and  you're 
going  to  scare  the  chickens  out  of  camp." 

They  waited  a  minute  but  Trouble  did  not 
growl. 

"Why  don't  you  make  a  noise?"  asked 
Janet. 

Trouble  gave  a  grunt. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Ted. 

"I — I  can't  growl  'cause  I'm  all  stuck 
under  here,"  answered  the  voice  of  the  little 
fellow,  from  far  under  the  couch.  "I  can't 
wiggle!" 

"Oh,  dear!"  cried  Janet. 

Teddy  stooped  and  looked  beneath  the 
couch. 

"He's  caught  on  some  of  the  springs  that 
stick  down,"  he  said.  "I'll  poke  him  out." 

He  caught  hold  of  Trouble's  clothes  and 
pulled  the  little  fellow  loose.  But  Trouble 
cried — perhaps  because  he  was  sleepy — and 
then  his  mother  came  and  got  him,  leaving 


26          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

Teddy  and  Janet  to  play  by  themselves, 
which  they  did  until  they,  too,  began  to  feel 
sleepy. 

"  You  '11  want  to  go  to  bed  earlier  than  this 
when  you  go  camping,  my  Curlytops,"  said 
Grandpa  Martin,  as  the  children  came  out 
of  the  sitting-room. 

"Are  you  really  going  to  take  them  camp- 
ing?" asked  Mother  Martin  after  Jan  and 
Ted  had  gone  upstairs  to  bed. 

"I  really  am.  There  are  some  tents  in  the 
barn.  I  own  part  of  Star  Island  and  there's 
no  nicer  place  to  camp.  You'll  come,  too, 
and  so  will  Dick  when  he  comes  back  from 
Cresco.  We'll  take  Nora  along  to  do  the 
cooking.  Will  you  come,  Mother?"  and  the 
Curlytops'  grandfather  looked  at  his  gray- 
haired  wife. 

"No,  I'll  stay  on  Cherry  Farm  and  feed 
the  hired  men,"  she  answered  with  a  smile. 

"Why  do  they  call  it  Star  Island?"  asked 
Ted's  mother. 

"Well,  once  upon  a  time,  a  good  many 
years  ago,"  said  Grandpa  Martin,  "a  shoot- 
ing star,  or  meteor,  fell  blazing  on  the  island, 
and  that's  how  it  got  its  name." 

"Maybe  it  was  a  part  of  the  star  shining 
that  the  children  saw  to-night,"  said  Grand- 


What  the  Farmer  Told 27 

ma  Martin.  " Though  1  don't  see  how  it 
could  be,  for  it  fell  many  years  ago." 

"Maybe,"  agreed  her  husband. 

None  of  them  knew  what  a  queer  part 
that  fallen  star  was  to  have  in  the  lives  of 
those  who  were  shortly  to  go  camping  on  the 
island. 

Early  the  next  morning  after  breakfast, 
Ted  and  Jan  went  out  to  the  barn  to  get 
Mcknack  to  have  a  ride. 

" Where  is  you?  I  wants  to  come,  tool" 
cried  the  voice  of  their  little  brother,  as  they 
were  putting  the  harness  on  their  goat. 

"Oh,  there's  Trouble,"  whispered  Ted. 
"Shall  we  take  him  with  us,  Jan  |" 

"Yes,  this  time.  We're  not  going  far. 
Grandma  wants  us  to  go  to  the  store  for 
some  baking  soda." 

"All  right,  we'll  drive  down,"  returned 
Ted.  ' '  Come  on,  Trouble ! "  he  called. 

"I's  tummin',"  answered  Baby  William. 
"I's  dot  a  tookie." 

"He  means  cookie,"  said  Jan,  laughing. 

"I  know  it,"  agreed  Ted.  "I  wish  he'd 
bring  me  one." 

"Me  too!"  exclaimed  Janet. 

"I's  dot  a  'ot  of  tookies,"  went  on  Trou- 
ble, who  did  not  always  talk  in  such  "baby 


28          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

fashion."  When  he  tried  to  he  could  speak 
very  well,  but  he  did  not  often  try. 

"Oh,  he's  got  his  whole  apron  full  of 
cookies!"  cried  Jan.  "Where  did  you  get 
them?"  she  asked,  as  her  little  brother  came 
into  the  barn. 

"Drandma  given  'em  to  me,  an'  she  said 
you  was  to  have  some, ' '  announced  the  little 
boy,  as  he  let  the  cookies  slide  out  of  his 
apron  to  a  box  that  stood  near  the  goat- 
wagon. 

Then  Baby  William  began  eating  a  cookie, 
and  Jan  and  Ted  did  also,  for  they,  too,  were 
hungry,  though  it  was  not  long  after  break- 
fast. 

"Goin'  to  wide?"  asked  Trouble,  his 
mouth  full  of  cookie. 

"Yes,  we're  going  for  a  ride,"  answered 
Jan.  "Oh,  Ted,  get  a  blanket  or  something 
to  put  over  our  laps.  It's  awful  dusty  on 
the  road  to-day,  even  if  it  did  rain  last  night. 
It  all  dried  up,  I  guess. " 

"All  right,  I'll  get  a  blanket  from  grand- 
pa's carriage.  And  you'd  better  get  a 
cushion  for  Trouble." 

"I  will,"  said  Janet,  and  her  brother  and 
sister  left  Baby  William  alone  with  the  goat 
for  a  minute  or  two. 


What  the  Farmer  Told 29 

When  Jan  came  back  with  the  cushion  she 
went  to  get  another  cookie,  but  there  were 
none. 

"Why  Trouble  Martin  I "  she  cried,  "did 
you  eat  them  all?" 

"All  what ?" 

"All  the  cookies!" 

"I  did  eat  one  and  Nicknack — he  did  eat 
the  west.  He  was  hungry,  he  was,  and  he 
did  eat  the  west  ob  'em.  I  feeded  'em  to 
him.  Nicknack  was  a  hungry  goat,"  said 
Trouble,  smiling. 

"I  should  think  he  was  hungry,  to  eat  up 
all  those  cookies!  I  only  had  one!"  cried 
Jan. 

"What!  Did  Nicknack  get  at  the 
cookies?"  cried  Ted,  coming  back  with  a 
light  lap  robe. 

"Trouble  gave  them  to  him,"  explained 
Janet.  "Oh  dear!  I  was  so  hungry  for 
another!" 

"I'll  ask  grandma  for  some,"  promised 
Ted,  and  he  soon  came  back  with  his  hands 
full  of  the  round,  brown  molasses  cookies. 

"Hello,  Curlytops,  what  can  I  do  for  you 
to-day  I"  asked  the  storekeeper  a  little  later, 
when  the  three  children  had  driven  up  to  his 
front  door.  "Do  you  want  a  barrel  of  sugar 


3*          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

put  in  your  wagon  or  a  keg  of  salt  mack'rel  ? 
I  have  both." 

"We  want  baking  soda,"  answered  Jan. 

"And  you  shall  have  the  best  I've  got. 
Where  are  you  going — off  to  look  for  the  end 
of  the  rainbow  and  get  the  pot  of  gold  at  the 
end?"  he  asked  jokingly. 

"No,  we're  not  going  far  to-day,"  an- 
swered Ted. 

"Well,  stop  in  when  you're  passing  this 
way  again,"  called  out  the  storekeeper  as 
Ted  turned  Nicknaek  around  for  the  home- 
ward trip.  "I'm  always  glad  to  see  you." 

"Maybe  you  won't  see  us  now  for  quite  a 
while,"  answered  Jan  proudly. 

"No?  Why  not?  You're  not  going  to 
leave  Cherry  Farm  I  hope. ' ' 

Ted  stopped  Nicknack  that  they  might 
better  explain. 

"We're  going  camping  with  grandpa  on 
Star  Island." 

"Where's  that  you're  going?"  asked  a 
farmer  who  had  just  come  out  of  the  store 
after  buying  some  groceries. 

"Camping  on  Star  Island  in  Clover 
Lake,"  repeated  Ted. 

"Huh!    I  wouldn't  go  there  if  I  were 
you,"  said  the  farmer,  shaking  his  head. 


31 


' '  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Ted.  ' '  Is  it  because  of 
the  blue  light?"  and  he  looked  at  his  sister 
to  see  if  she  remembered. 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  a  blue 
light,"  the  farmer  answered.  "But  if  I 
were  your  grandfather  I  wouldn't  take  you 
there  camping,"  and  the  man  again  shook 
his  head. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Janet,  her  eyes  open- 
ing wide  in  surprise. 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  why,"  went  on  the 
farmer.  "I  was  over  on  Star  Island  fishing 
the  other  day,  and  I  saw  a  couple  of  tramps, 
or  maybe  gypsies,  there.  I  didn't  like  the 
looks  of  the  men,  and  that's  why  I  wouldn't 
go  there  camping  if  I  were  you  or  your 
grandpa,"  and  the  farmer  shook  his  head 
again  as  he  unhitched  his  team  of  horses. 


CHAPTER  III 


OFF  TO  STAB  ISLAND 

"On  Ted  I"  exclaimed  Janet,  as  she  drove 
home  in  the  goat-wagon  with  her  brother 
and  Baby  William,  "do  you  s'pose  we  can't 
go  camping  with  grandpa  ?" 

"Why  can't  we?"  demanded  Teddy. 

"  'Cause  of  what  that  farmer  said." 

"Oh,  well,  I  guess  grandpa  won't  be  'fraid 
of  tramps  on  the  island.  It's  part  his,  any- 
how, and  he  can  make  'em  get  off." 

"Yes,  he  could  do  that,"  agreed  Janet, 
after  thinking  the  matter  over.  "But  if 
they  were  gypsies'?" 

"Well,  gypsies  and  tramps  are  the  same. 
Grandpa  can  make  the  gypsies  get  off  the 
island  too." 

"They— they  might  take  Trouble,"  fal- 
tered Jan  in  a  low  voice. 

"Who?"  asked  Ted. 

"The  gypsies." 

32 


Off  to  Star  Island 33 

"Who  take  me?"  demanded  Trouble  him- 
self. "  Who  take  me,  Jam  !' ' 

Sometimes  he  called  his  sister  Jam  instead 
of  Jan. 

"  Who  take  me  ?"  he  asked,  playfully  pok- 
ing his  fingers  in  his  sister's  eyes. 

"Oh — nobody,"  she  answered  quickly,  as 
she  took  him  off  her  lap  and  put  him  behind 
her  in  the  cart.  She  did  not  want  to  fright- 
en her  little  brother.  "Let's  hurry  home 
and  tell  grandpa,"  Jan  said  to  Ted,  and  he 
nodded  his  curly  head  to  show  that  he  would 
do  that. 

On  trotted  Nicknack,  Trouble  being  now 
seated  in  the  back  of  the  wagon  on  a  cushion, 
while  Ted  and  Jan  were  in  front. 

"Maybe  it  was  tramps  making  a  campfire 
that  we  saw  last  night,"  went  on  Jan  after 
a  pause,  ciuring  which  they  came  nearer  to 
Cherry  Farm. 

"A  campfire  blaze  isn't  blue,"  declared 
Ted. 

"Well,  maybe  this  is  a  new  kind." 

Ted  shook  his  head  until  his  curls  wag- 
gled. 

"I  don't  b'lieve  so,"  he  said. 

1 '  Bang !  There,  me  shoot  you ! ' '  suddenly 
cried  Trouble,  and  Ted  and  Jan  heard  some- 


34          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

thing  fall  with  a  thud  on  the  ground  behind 
them. 

"Whoa,  there !"  cried  Ted  to  Nicknack. 
"What  are  you  shootin',  Trouble  baby?"  he 
asked,  turning  to  look  at  his  little  brother. 

"Me  shoot  a  bunny  rabbit,"  was  the 
answer. 

"Oh,  there  is  a  little  bunny!"  cried  Jan, 
pointing  to  a  small,  brown  one  that  ran 
along  under  the  bushes,  and  then  came  to  a 
stop  in  front  of  the  goat- wagon,  pausing  to 
look  at  the  children. 

"Me  shoot  him,"  said  Trouble,  laughing 
gleefully. 

"What  with?"  asked  Ted,  a  sudden 
thought  coming  into  his  mind. 

"Trouble  frow  store  thing  at  bunny,"  said 
the  little  boy.  "It  bwoke  an*  all  white  stuff 
corned  out!" 

"Oh,  Trouble,  did  you  throw  grandma's 
soda  at  the  bunny?"  cried  Jan. 

"Yes,  I  did,"  answered  Baby  William. 

"And  it's  all  busted!"  exclaimed  Ted,  as 
he  saw  the  white  powder  scattered  about  on 
the  woodland  path.  "We've  got  to  go  back 
to  the  store  for  some  more.  Oh,  Trouble 
Martin!" 

"I's  didn't  hurt  de  bunny  wabbit,"  said 


Off  to  Star  Island  35 

Trouble  earnestly.  "I's  only  make-be 'ieve 
shoot  him — bang  I ' ' 

"I  know  you  didn't  hurt  the  bunny, "  ob- 
served Jan.  "But  you've  hurt  grandma's 
'soda.  Is  there  any  left,  Ted?"  she  asked, 
as  her  brother  got  out  of  the  wagon  to  pick 
up  the  broken  package. 

"A  little,"  he  answered.  "There's  some 
in  the  bottom.  I  guess  we'll  go  back  to  the 
store  and  get  more.  I  want  to  ask  that 
farmer  again  about  the  tramps  on  Star 
Island." 

"No,  don't,"  begged  Jan.  "Let's  take 
what  soda  we  have  to  grandma.  Maybe  it'll 
be  enough.  Anyhow,  if  we  did  go  back  for 
more  Trouble  might  throw  that  out,  too,  if 
he  saw  a  rabbit." 

' '  That 's  so.  I  guess  we  'd  better  leave  him 
when  we  go  to  the  store  next  time.  How'd 
he  get  the  soda,  anyhow?" 

"It  must  have  jiggled  out  of  my  lap, 
where  I  was  holding  it,  and  then  it  fell  in 
the  bottom  of  the  wagon  and  he  got  it.  He 
didn't  know  any  better." 

"No,  I  s'pose  not.  Well,  maybe  grandma 
can  use  this." 

Teddy  carefully  lifted  up  the  broken  pack- 
age of  baking  soda,  more  than  half  of  which 


36          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

had  spilled  when  Trouble  threw  it  at  the  lit- 
tle brown  rabbit.  Baby  William  may  have 
thought  the  package  of  soda  was  a  white 
stone,  for  it  was  wrapped  in  a  white  paper. 

"Well,  I'm  glad  he  didn't  hit  the  little 
bunny,  anyhow, ' '  said  Jan.  '  *  Where  is  it  ?  " 
and  she  looked  for  the  rabbit. 

But  the  timid  woodland  creature  had 
hopped  away,  probably  to  go  to  its  burrow 
and  tell  a  wonderful  story,  in  rabbit  lan- 
guage, about  having  seen  some  giants  in  a 
big  wagon  drawn  by  an  elephant — for  to  a 
rabbit  a  goat  must  seem  as  large  as  a  circus 
animal. 

"I  guess  Trouble  can't  hit  much  that  he 
throws  at,"  observed  Ted,  as  he  started 
Nicknack  once  more  toward  Cherry  Farm. 

"He  threw  a  hair  brush  at  me  once  and  hit 
me,"  declared  Jan. 

"Yes,  I  remember,"  said  Teddy.  "Here, 
Trouble,  if  you  want  to  throw  things  throw 
these,"  and  he  stopped  to  pick  up  some  old 
acorns  which  he  gave  his  little  brother. 
"You  can't  hurt  anyone  with  them." 

Trouble  was  delighted  with  his  new  play- 
things, and  kept  quiet  the  rest  of  the  way 
home  tossing  the  acorns  out  of  the  goat- 
wagon  at  the  trees  he  passed. 


Off  to  Star  Island 37 

Grandma  Martin  said  it  did  not  matter 
about  the  broken  box  of  soda,  as  there  was 
enough  left  for  her  need;  so  Ted  and  Jan 
did  not  have  to  go  back  to  the  store. 

"But  I'd  like  to  ask  that  farmer  more 
about  the  tramps  on  Star  Island,"  said  Ted 
to  his  grandfather,  when  telling  what  the 
man  had  said  at  the  grocery. 

"I'll  see  him  and  ask  him,"  decided 
Grandpa  Martin. 

It  was  two  days  after  this — two  days 
during  which  the  Curlytops  had  much'  fun 
at  Cherry  Farm — that  Grandpa  Martin 
spoke  at  dinner  one  afternoon. 

"I  saw  Mr.  Crittendon,"  he  said,  "and  he 
told  me  that  he  had  seen  you  Curlytops  at 
the  store  and  mentioned  the  tramps  on  Star 
Island." 

"Are  they  really  there!"  asked  Jan 
eagerly. 

"Well,  they  might  have  been.  But  we 
won't  let  them  bother  us  if  we  go  camping. 
I'll  make  them  clear  out.  Most  of  that 
island  belongs  to  me,  and  the  rest  to  friends 
of  mine.  They'll  do  as  I  say,  and  we'll  clear 
out  the  tramps." 

"I  hope  you  will,  Grandpa,"  said  Janet. 

"Did  Mr.  Crittendon  say  anything  about 


38          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

the  queer  blue  light  Jan  and  Ted  saw?" 
asked  Grandma  Martin. 

"No,  he  hadn't  seen  that." 

' '  Where  did  the  tramps  come  from  ?  And 
is  he  sure  they  weren't  gypsies?"  asked 
Jan's  mother. 

"No,  they  weren't  gypsies.  We  don't 
often  see  them  around  here.  Oh,  I  imagine 
the  tramps  were  the  regular  kind  that  go 
about  the  country  in  summer,  begging  their 
way.  They  might  have  found  a  boat  and 
gone  to  the  island  to  sleep,  where  no  con- 
stable would  trouble  them. 

"But  we're  not  afraid  of  tramps,  are  we, 
Curlytops?"  he  cried,  as  he  caught  Baby 
William  up  in  his  arms  and  set  him  on  his 
broad  shoulder.  "We  don't  mind  them,  do 
we,  Trouble?" 

"We  frow  water  on  'em!"  said  Baby 
William,  laughing  with  delight  as  his  grand- 
father made-believe  bite  some  "souse"  off 
his  ears. 

"That's  what  we  will  I  No  tramps  for  us 
on  Star  Island!" 

"When  are  we  going?"  asked  Ted  excit- 
edly. 

"Yes,  when?"  echoed  Jan. 

"In  a  few  days  now.    I've  got  to  get  out 


Off  to  Star  Island 39 

the  tents  and  other  things.  We  '11  go  the  first 
of  the  week  I  think." 

Ted  and  Jan  could  hardly  wait  for  the 
time  to  come.  They  helped  as  much  as  they 
could  when  Grandpa  Martin  got  the  tents 
out  of  the  barn,  and  they  wanted  to  take  so 
many  of  their  toys  and  playthings  along  that 
there  would  have  been  no  room  in  the  boat 
for  anything  else  if  they  had  had  their  way. 

But  Mother  Martin  thinned  out  their  col- 
lection of  treasures,  allowing  them  to  take 
only  what  she  thought  would  give  them  the 
most  pleasure.  Boxes  of  food  were  packed, 
and  a  little  stove  made  ready  to  take  along, 
for  although  a  campfire  looks  nice  it  is  hard 
to  cook  over. 

Trouble  got  into  all  sorts  of  mischief, 
from  almost  falling  out  of  the  haymow  once, 
to  losing  the  bucket  down  the  well  by  letting 
the  chain  unwind  too  fast.  But  a  hired  man 
caught  him  as  he  toppled  off  the  hay  in  the 
barn,  and  Grandpa  Martin  got  the  bucket  up 
from  the  well  by  tying  the  rake  to  a  long  pole 
and  fishing  deep  down  in  the  water. 

At  last  the  day  came  when  the  Curlytops 
were  to  go  camping  on  Star  Island.  The 
boat  was  loaded  with  the  tents  and  other 
things,  and  two  or  three  trips  were  to  be 


40          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

made  half-way  across  the  lake,  for  the  island 
was  about  in  the  middle.  Nicknack  and  his 
wagon  were  to  be  taken  over  and  a  small 
stable  made  for  him  under  a  tree  not  far 
from  the  big  tent. 

"All  aboard!"  cried  Ted,  as  he  and  Jan 
took  their  places  in  the  first  boat.  "All 
aboard I" 

"Isn't  this  fun!"  laughed  Janet,  who  was 
taking  care  of  Trouble. 

"Dis  fun,"  echoed  the  little  chap. 

"I'm  sure  we'll  have  a  nice  time,"  said 
Mother  Martin.  "And  your  father  will  like 
it  when  he,  too,  can  camp  out  with  us." 

"I  hope  the  tramps  don't  bother  you," 
said  Mr.  Crittendon,  who  had  come  to  help 
Grandpa  Martin  get  his  camping  party 
ready. 

"Oh,  we're  not  afraid  of  them!"  cried 
Ted. 

"Well,  be  careful;  that's  all  I've  got  to 
say,"  went  on  the  farmer.  "I'll  let  you  have 
my  gun,  if  you  think  you'll  need  it,"  he  said 
to  Grandpa  Martin. 

"Nonsense!  I  won't  need  it,  thank  you. 
I'm  not  afraid  of  a  few  tramps.  Besides  I 
sent  one  of  my  men  over  to  the  island  yes- 
terday, and  he  couldn't  find  a  si^n  of  a  vag- 


41 


rant.  If  any  tramps  were  there  they've 
gone." 

"Wa-all,  maybe/'  said  the  farmer,  with  a 
shake  of  his  head.  "Good  luck  to  you,  any- 
how!" 

"Thanks!"  laughed  Grandpa  Martin. 

"All  aboard!"  called  Ted  once  more. 

Then  Sam,  the  hired  man,  and  Grandpa 
Martin  began  to  row  the  boat. 

The  Curlytops  were  off  for  Star  Island, 
to  camp  out  with  grandpa. 


CHAPTER  IV 

OVERBOARD 

"TROUBLE!  sit  still!"  ordered  Janet. 

"Yes,  Trouble,  you  sit  still!"  called 
Mother  Martin,  as  the  Curly  tops'  grand- 
father and  his  man  pulled  on  the  oars  that 
sent  the  boat  out  toward  the  middle  of  the 
lake.  ' '  Don 't  move  about. ' ' 

"I  wants  to  splash  water." 

"Oh,  no,  you  mustn't  do  that!  Splashing 
water  isn't  nice,"  said  Baby  William's 
mother. 

"  'Ike  drandpa  does,"  Trouble  went  on, 
pointing  to  the  oars  which  the  farmer  was 
moving  to  and  fro.  Now  and  then  a  little 
wave  hit  the  broad  blades  and  splashed  little 
drops  into  the  boat. 

"Trouble  want  do  that!"  declared  the 
little  fellow. 

"No,  Trouble  mustn't  do  that,"  said  his 
mother.  "Grandpa  isn't  splashing  the 

42 


Overboard  43 

water.  He's  rowing.  Sit  still  and  watch 
him." 

Baby  William  did  sit  still  for  a  little 
while,  but  not  for  very  long.  His  mother 
held  to  the  loose  part  of  his  blue  and  white 
rompers  so  he  would  not  get  far  away,  but, 
after  a  bit,  she  rather  forgot  about  him,  in 
talking  to  Ted  and  Jan  about  what  they 
were  to  do  and  not  to  do  in  camp. 

Suddenly  grandpa,  who  had  been  rowing 
slowly  toward  Star  Island,  dropped  his  oars 
and  cried : 

"Look  out  there,  Trouble!" 

"Oh,  what's  the  matter?"  asked  Mother 
Martin,  looking  around  quickly. 

"Trouble  nearly  jumped  out  of  the  boat," 
explained  Grandpa  Martin.  "I  just  grabbed 
him  in  time." 

And  so  he  had,  catching  Baby  William  by 
the  seat  of  his  rompers  and  pulling  him  back 
on  the  seat  from  which  he  had  quickly 
sprung  up. 

"What  were  you  trying  to  do?"  asked 
Mrs.  Martin. 

"Trouble  want  to  catch  fish,"  was  the 
little  fellow's  answer. 

"Yes!  I  guess  a  fish  would  catch  you 
first!"  laughed  Ted. 


44          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"I'll  sit  by  him  and  hold  him  in,"  offered 
Janet,  and  she  remained  close  to  her  small 
brother  during  the  remainder  of  the  trip 
across  the  lake.  He  did  not  again  try  to 
lean  far  over  as  he  had  done  when  his  grand- 
father saw  him  and  grabbed  him. 

"  Hurray !"  cried  Teddy,  as  he  sprang 
ashore.  "Now  for  the  camp!  Can  I  help 
put  up  the  tents,  Grandpa?" 

"Yes,  "when  it's  time.  But  first  we  must 
bring  the  rest  of  the  things  over.  Well  fin- 
ish that  first  and  put  up  the  tents  afterward. 
We  have  two  more  boatloads  to  bring." 

"Then  can't  I  help  do  that?" 

"Yes,  you  may  do  that,"  said  Grandpa 
Martin  with  a  smile. 

* '  Can 't  I  come,  too  ?  "  asked  Janet.  "  I  'm 
almost  as  strong  as  Teddy." 

"I  think  you'd  better  stay  and  help  me 
look  after  Trouble,"  said  Mrs.  Martin. 
"Nora  will  be  busy  getting  lunch  ready  for 
us,  which  we  will  eat  before  the  tents  are 
up." 

"Oh,  then  I  can  help  at  that!"  cried 
Janet,  who  was  eager  to  be  busy.  '  *  Come  on, 
Nora !  Where  are  the  things  to  eat,  Mother  ? 
I  'm  hungry  already ! ' ' 

"So'm  I!"  cried  Ted.    "Can't  we  eat  be- 


Overboard  45 


fore  we  go  back  for  the  other  boatload, 
Grandpa?" 

"Yes,  I  guess  so.  You  Curlytops  can  eat 
while  Sam  and  I  unload  the  boat.  I'll  call 
you  Teddy,  when  I'm  ready  to  go  back." 

' 'All  right,  Grandpa." 

The  tents  were  to  be  put  up  and  camp 
made  a  little  way  up  from  the  shore  near  the 
spot  at  which  they  had  landed.  Grandpa 
Martin  took  out  of  the  boat  the  different 
things  he  had  brought  over,  and  stacked 
them  up  on  shore.  Parts  of  the  tents  were 
there,  and  things  to  cook  with  as  well  as 
food  to  eat.  More  things  would  be  brought 
on  the  next  two  trips,  when  another  of  the 
hired  men  was  to  come  over  to  help  put  up 
the  tents  and  make  camp. 

"Oh,  I  just  know  we'll  have  fun  here, 
camping  with  grandpa!"  laughed  Jan,  as 
she  picked  up  her  small  brother  who  had 
slipped  and  fallen  down  a  little  hill,  covered 
with  brown  pine  needles. 

"Let's  go  and  look  for  something,"  pro- 
nosed  Ted,  when  he  had  run  about  a  bit  and 
thrown  stones  in  the  lake,  watching  the 
water  splash  up  and  hundreds  of  rings 
each  other  toward  shore. 

"What '11  we  look  for?"  asked  Janet,  as 


46          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

she  took  hold  of  Trouble's  hand,  so  he  would 
not  slip  down  again. 

"Oh,  anything  we  can  find,"  went  on  Ted. 
"We'll  have  some  fun  while  we're  waiting 
for  grandpa  to  get  out  the  things  to  eat." 

"I  want  something  to  eat!"  cried  Trouble. 

"Fs  hungry!" 

"So'm  I — a  little  bit,"  admitted  Jan. 

"Maybe  we  could  find  a  cookie — or  some- 
thing— before  they  get  everything  un- 
packed," suggested  Teddy,  and  this  was  just 
what  happened.  Grandpa  Martin  had  some 
cookies  in  a  paper  bag  in  his  pocket. 
Grandma  Martin  had  put  them  there,  for 
she  felt  sure  the  children  would  get  hungry 
before  their  regular  lunch  was  ready  on  the 
island.  And  she  knew  how  hungry  it  makes 
anyone,  children  especially,  to  start  off  on  a 
picnic  in  the  woods  or  across  a  lake. 

"There  you  are,  Curlytops!"  laughed 
Grandpa  Martin,  as  he  passed  out  the  mo- 
lasses and  sugar  cookies.  "Now  don't  drop 
any  of  them  on  your  toes!" 

"Why  not?"  Ted  wanted  to  know. 

"Oh,  because  it  might  break  them — I 
mean  it  might  break  your  cookies,"  and 
Grandpa  Martin  laughed  again. 

"Come  now,  we'll  go  and  look  for  things," 


Overboard  47 


proposed  Ted,  as  he  took  a  bite  of  his  cookie, 
something  which  Jan  and  Trouble  were  also 
doing. 

"  What  '11  we  look  for?"  Jan  asked  again. 

"Oh,  maybe  we  can  find  a  cave  or  a  den 
where  a — where  a  fox  lives,"  he  said,  rather 
stumbling  over  his  words. 

At  first  Ted  had  been  going  to  say  that 
perhaps  they  would  look  for  a  bear's  den, 
but  then  he  happened  to  remember  that  even 
talk  of  a  bear,  though  of  course  there  were 
none  on  Star  Island,  might  scare  his  little 
brother  and  Jan.  So  he  said  "fox"  in- 
stead. 

"Is  there  a  fox  here?"  Jan  asked. 

"Maybe,"  said  Ted.  "Anyhow,  let's  go 
off  and  look." 

"Don't  go  too  far!"  called  Grandpa  Mar- 
tin after  them,  as  he  started  to  unload  the 
boat  and  get  the  camp  in  order.  "And  don't 
go  too  near  the  edge  of  the  lake.  I  don't 
want  you  to  fall  in  and  have  your  mother 
blame  me." 

"No,  we  won't!"  promised  Ted.  "Come 
on,"  he  called  to  his  little  brother  and  sister. 
"Oh,  there  you  go  again!"  he  cried,  as  he 
saw  Trouble  stumble  and  fall.  "What's  the 
matter? "he  asked. 


48          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

'  *  It 's  these  pine  needles.  They  're  awfully 
slippery/'  answered  Janet.  "I  nearly 
slipped  down  myself.  Did  you  hurt  your- 
self, Trouble?"  she  asked  the  little  fellow. 

He  did  not  answer  directly,  but  first 
looked  at  the  place  where  he  had  fallen.  He 
could  easily  see  it,  because  the  pine  needles 
were  brushed  to  one  side.  Then  Baby  Wil- 
liam tried  to  turn  around  and  look  at  the 
back  of  his  little  bloomers. 

"No,  I  isn't  hurted,"  he  said. 

Janet  and  Ted  laughed. 

"I  guess  maybe  he  thought  he  might  have 
broken  his  leg  or  something,"  remarked 
Teddy.  "Now  come  on  and  don't  fall  any 
more,  Trouble." 

But  the  little  fellow  was  not  quite  ready 
to  go  on.  He  stooped  over  and  looked  at  the 
ground  where  he  had  fallen. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Janet,  who 
was  waiting  to  lead  him  on,  holding  his  hand 
so  he  would  not  fall. 

"Maybe  he  lost  something,"  said  Teddy. 
"Has  he  got  any  pockets  in  his  bloomers, 
Jan?" 

"No,  mother  sewed  'em  up  so  he  wouldn't 
put  his  hands  in  'em  all  the  while — and  his 
hands  were  so  dirty  they  made  his  bloomers 


Overboard  49 


the  same  way.     He  hasn't  any  pockets." 

"Then  he  couldn't  lose  anything/'  decided 
Ted.  He  was  always  losing  things  from  his 
pockets,  so  perhaps  he  ought  to  know  about 
what  he  was  talking.  "What  is  it,  Trou- 
ble?" he  asked,  for  the  little  fellow  was  still 
stooping  over  and  looking  carefully  at  the 
ground  near  the  spot  where  he  had  fallen. 

"I — I  satted  right  down  on  him,"  said 
Trouble  at  last,  as  he  picked  up  something 
from  the  earth.  "I  satted  right  down  on 
him,  but  I  didn't  bust  him,"  and  he  held  out 
something  on  a  little  piece  of  wood. 

"What's  he  got!"  asked  Ted. 

"Oh,  it's  only  an  ant!"  answered  Janet. 
"I  guess  he  saw  a  little  ant  crawling  along, 
just  before  he  fell,  and  he  sat  down  on  him. 
Did  you  think  you'd  hurt  the  little  ant, 
Trouble!" 

"I  satted  on  him,  but  I  didn't  hurt  him," 
answered  the  little  boy.  "He  can  wiggle 
along  nice — see!"  and  he  showed  the  ant, 
crawling  about  on  the  piece  of  wood.  Per- 
haps the  little  ant  wondered  how  in  the  world 
it  was  ever  going  to  get  back  to  the  ground 
again. 

"Put  him  down  and  come  on,"  said  Ted. 
"We  want  to  find  something  before  grandpa 


50          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

puts  up  the  tent.  Maybe  we  can  find  the 
den  where  the  fox  lives." 

Trouble  carefully  put  the  little  ant  back 
on  the  ground. 

"I  satted  on  him,  but  I  didn't  hurted 
him,"  again  said  the  little  fellow,  grunting 
as  he  stood  up  straight  a  grain.  Janet  took 
his  hand  and  they  followed  Teddy  off 
through  the  forest. 

It  was  very  pleasant  in  the  woods  on  Star 
Island.  The  sun  was  shining  brightly  and 
the  waters  of  the  lake  sparkled  in  the  sun. 
The  children  felt  glad  and  happy  that  they 
had  come  camping  with  their  grandpa,  and 
they  knew  that  the  best  fun  was  yet  to 
happen. 

" Let's  look  around  for  holes  now,"  said 
Teddy,  after  they  had  gone  a  little  way  down 
a  woodland  path. 

"What  sort  of  holes?"  asked  Janet. 

" Holes  where  a  fox  lives,"  answered  her 
brother.  "If  we  could  find  a  fox  maybe  we 
could  tame  it." 

"Wouldn't  it  bite?"  the  little  girl  asked. 

"Well,  maybe  a  little  bit  at  first,  but  not 
after  it  got  tame, ' '  said  Teddy.  '  *  Come  on ! " 

They  walked  a  little  way  farther,  and  then 
Jan  suddenly  cried : 


Overboard  51 


"Oh,  I  see  a  hole!" 

She  pointed  to  one  beneath  the  roots  of 
a  big  tree. 

"That's  a  fox  den,  I  guess !"  exclaimed 
Teddy.  "We'll  watch  and  see  what  comes 
out." 

The  children  hid  in  the  bushes  where  they 
could  look  at  the  hole  in  the  ground.  For 
some  time  they  waited,  and  then  they  began 
to  get  tired.  The  Curlytops  were  not  used 
to  keeping  still. 

"I'm  going  to  sneeze!"  said  Trouble  sud- 
denly, and  sneeze  he  did.  And  just  then  a 
little  brown  animal  bounced  out  from  under 
a  bush  and  ran  into  the  hole. 

"Oh,  it's  a  bunny  rabbit!"  cried  Janet. 
"He  lives  in  that  hole!  Come  on,  Ted,  let's 
walk.  We've  found  out  what  it  was.  It 
isn't  a  fox,  it's  a  bunny!  Let's  go  and  find 
something  else  on  the  island.  Maybe  we  can 
find  a  big  cave." 

"And  maybe  we'll  find  out  what  that  blue 
light  was,"  cried  Ted  eagerly. 

"I  guess  I  don't  want  to  look  for  that," 
remarked  Jan  slowly. 

"Why  not?" 

"  'Cause  don't  you  'member  what  Hal 
said  about  there  bein*  ghosts  on  this 


52          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

island?"  and  Janet  looked  over  her  shoul- 
der, though  it  was  broad  daylight. 

* '  Pooh ! ' '  laughed  her  brother.  ' 1 1  thought 
you  didn't  believe  in  ghosts." 

"I  don't— but " 

"I'm  not  afraid  I"  declared  Teddy.  "And 
I'm  going  to  look  and  see  if  I  can't  find  the 
lost  star  that  fell  on  the  island." 

"Grandpa  said  it  all  burned  up." 

"Well,  maybe  a  little  piece  of  it  was  left. 
Anyhow  I'm  going  to  look." 

So  they  looked,  but  they  found  nothing 
like  the  blue  light,  and  then  Ted  said  he  was 
hungry  and  wanted  to  eat. 

Nora  and  Mrs.  Martin  had  set  out  a  little 
lunch  for  the  children  on  top  of  a  packing 
box,  and  the  Curlytops  and  Trouble  were 
soon  enjoying  the  sandwiches  and  cake, 
while  their  grandfather  and  the  hired  man 
finished  unloading  the  boat.  In  a  little  while 
Grandpa  Martin  called : 

"All  aboard,  Teddy,  if  you're  going  back 
with  me!" 

"I'm  coming!"  was  the  answer.  "I'm 
coming!" 

It  did  not  take  Grandpa  Martin  long  to 
pull  back  to  the  mainland  in  the  boat  which 
was  empty  save  for  himself  and  Ted.  The 


Overboard  53 


lake  was  smooth,  a  little  wind  making  tiny 
waves  that  gently  lapped  the  side  of  the 
boat. 

"I  think  we'd  better  bring  Nieknack  over 
this  trip,"  said  Grandpa  Martin,  when  a 
second  farm  hand  met  him  on  shore  and  be- 
gan to  help  load  the  boat  for  the  second  trip. 
"The  sooner  we  get  that  goat  over  on  the 
island  the  better  I'll  feel." 

"Why,  you're  not  afraid  of  him,  are 
you?"  asked  the  hired  man  whose  name  was 
George. 

"No.  But  I  don't  know  how  easy  it's  go- 
ing to  be  to  ferry  him  over.  He  may  start 
some  of  his  tricks.  So  we  won't  put  much 
in  the  boat  this  time.  We'll  leave  plenty  of 
room  for  the  goat  and  the  cart. ' ' 

"Oh,  Nicknack  will  be  good,"  declared 
Ted.  "I  know  he  will.  Won't  you,  Nick- 
nack?"  and  he  put  his  arms  around  his  pet. 
The  goat  had  been  driven  down  near  the 
dock  whence  the  boat  started  for  Star 
Island. 

"Well,  unharness  him  and  we'll  get  him 
on  board, ' '  said  the  farmer.  ' l  Then  we  11  see 
what  happens  next. ' ' 

Nicknack  made  no  fuss  at  all  about  being 
unharnessed.  His  wagon  was  first  wheeled 


54          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

on  the  boat,  which  was  a  large  one  and  broad. 
Then  Ted  started  Nicknack  toward  the  craft. 

"  Giddap !"  cried  Teddy  to  Nicknack. 
"We're  going  to  camp  on  Star  Island,  and 
you  can  have  lots  of  fun!  Giddap !" 

Nicknack  stood  still  on  the  dock  for  a  few 
seconds,  and  he  seemed  to  be  sniffing  the  boat 
and  the  water  in  which  it  floated.  Then  with 
a  little  wiggle  of  his  funny,  short  tail,  he 
jumped  down  in  near  his  wagon,  and  began 
eating  some  grass  which  Ted  had  pulled  and 
placed  there  for  him. 

"It's  a  sort  of  bait,  like  a  piece  of  cheese 
in  a  mouse  trap,"  remarked  Ted,  as  he  saw 
the  goat  nibbling.  "Isn't  he  good,  Grand- 
pa?" 

"He's  good  now,  Teddy;  but  whether  he'll 
be  good  all  the  way  over  is  something  I  can't 
say.  I  hope  so." 

George  put  in  the  boat  as  much  as  could 
safely  be  carried,  with  the  goat  as  a  pas- 
senger, and  then  he  and  Grandpa  Martin 
began  rowing  toward  Star  Island.  At  first 
everything  went  very  well.  Nicknack 
seemed  a  little  frightened  when  the  boat 
tipped  and  rocked,  but  Ted  patted  him  and 
fed  him  more  grass,  which  Nicknack  liked 
verv  much. 


Overboard  55 


"I  knew  he'd  be  good!"  Teddy  said,  when 
they  were  almost  at  the  island,  and  could  see 
Jan  waving  to  them.  "I  knew  he'd  like  the 
boat  ride,  Grandpa." 

i  i  Yes,  he  seems  to  like  it.    Now  if  we ' ; 

But  just  then  something  happened. 

The  wind  suddenly  blew  rather  hard, 
roughening  the  water  and  causing  the  boat 
to  tip.  Nicknack  was  jostled  over  against 
the  wagon,  and  some  water  splashed  on  him. 

"Baa-a-a-a-a!"  bleated  the  goat. 

Then,  before  anyone  could  stop  him,  he 
gave  a  leap  over  Teddy's  head,  and  into  the 
water  splashed  Mcknack. 

The  goat  had  leaped  overboard  into  the 
deepest  part  of  Clover  Lake ! 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  BAG  OF  SALT 


lit 


'On!  Oh!"  cried  Teddy.  "Oh,  there 
goes  my  nice  goat!  Catch  him,  Grandpa! 
Stop  him!" 

Grandpa  Martin  stopped  rowing  and 
looked  in  surprise  at  the  goat.  So  did  the 
hired  man. 

"Well,  just  look!"  exclaimed  George. 

"Oh,  he'll  be  drowned!  He'll  be 
drowned!"  wailed  Teddy,  tears  coming  into 
his  eyes,  for  he  loved  Nicknack.  "He'll  be 
drowned!" 

Grandpa  Martin  rested  his  hands  on  the 
oars  and  looked  into  the  water.  Then  he 
smiled. 

"I  guess  you'd  have  hard  work  drowning 
that  goat,"  he  said.  "He's  swimming  like 
a  fish!" 

"And  right  straight  for  Star  Island!" 
added  the  hired  man.  "That's  a  smart  goat 

56 


The  Bag  of  Salt       57 

all  right !  He  knows  where  he  wants  to  go, 
and  the  shortest  way  to  get  there!" 

Surely  enough  Nicknack  was  swimming 
toward  the  island.  When  he  jumped  out  of 
the  boat  he  floundered  a  little  in  the  water, 
and  splashed  some  on  Teddy.  Then  he 
struck  out,  paddling  as  a  dog  does  with  his 
front  feet.  Nicknack  turned  himself  about 
until  he  was  headed  toward  the  island,  and 
then  he  swam  straight  toward  it. 

"Oh,  won't  he  drown,  Grandpa ?"  asked 
Teddy. 

' '  I  don 't  believe  so,  my  boy !  I  guess  Nick- 
nack  knows  more  than  we  thought  he  did. 
Maybe  he  didn't  like  the  way  we  rowed,  or 
he  may  have  wanted  a  bath.  Anyhow 
he  jumped  overboard,  but  he'll  be  all 
right." 

"See  him  go !"  cried  the  hired  man. 

Nicknack  was  swimming  quite  fast.  Of 
course  a  goat  is  not  as  good  a  swimmer  as  is 
a  duck  or  a  fish,  but  Ted's  pet  did  very  well. 
On  shore  were  Nora,  Mrs.  Martin,  Janet, 
Trouble,  and  the  farm  hand  who  had  gone 
over  in  the  first  boatload.  They  were  watch- 
ing the  goat  swimming  toward  them. 

"Did  you  throw  him  into  the  water, 
Teddy?"  asked  Janet,  as  soon  as  the  boat 


58 


was  near  enough  so  that  talking  could  be 
heard. 

.     "He  jumped  in,"  Ted  answered.    "Isn't 
he  a  good  swimmer?" 

"I  should  say  so!  Here,  Nicknack !  Come 
here!"  Janet  called. 

The  goat,  which  had  been  headed  toward 
a  spot  a  little  way  down  the  island  from 
where  Janet  and  her  mother  stood,  turned  at 
the  sound  of  the  little  girl's  voice  and  came 
in  her  direction. 

"Oh,  he  knows  me!"  she  cried  in  delight. 
"Now  don't  shake  yourself  the  way  Sky- 
rocket does,  and  get  me  all  wet !"  she  begged, 
as  Nicknack  scrambled  out  on  shore,  water 
dripping  from  his  hairy  coat. 

But  the  goat  did  not  act  like  a  dog,  who 
gives  himself  a  great  shaking  whenever  he 
comes  on  shore  after  having  been  in  the 
water.  Nicknack  just  let  it  drip  off  him,  and 
began  to  nibble  some  of  the  grass  that  grew 
on  the  island.  He  was  making  himself  per- 
fectly at  home,  it  seemed. 

The  goat- wagon  and  the  other  things  were 
soon  landed,  and  then  Grandpa  Martin  and 
one  of  the  hired  men  went  back  for  the  last 
load.  When  that  came  back  and  the  things 
were  piled  up  near  the  tents,  the  work  of  set- 


The  Bag  of  Salt 59 

ting  up  the  camp  went  on.  There  was  much 
yet  to  be  done. 

Ted  and  Jan  helped  all  they  could  in  put- 
ting up  the  tents.  So  did  Mother  Martin 
and  Nora,  who  was  large  and  strong.  She 
could  pull  on  a  rope  about  as  well  as  a  man, 
and  there  were  many  ropes  that  needed 
tightening  and  fastening  around  pegs  driven 
into  the  ground  so  the  tents  would  not  blow 
over  in  the  wind. 

Mcknack  had  been  tied  to  a  tree,  near 
which,  a  little  later,  Ted  and  Jan  were  go- 
ing to  make  him  a  little  bower  of  leaves  and 
branches.  That  was  to  be  his  stable  until  a 
better  one  could  be  built  by  Grandpa  Martin 
— one  that  would  keep  Mcknack  dry  when  it 
rained. 

At  last  the  tents  were  up,  one  for  sleep- 
ing, another  for  cooking,  and  a  third  where 
the  Curlytops  and  the  others  would  eat  their 
meals.  It  was  a  fine  camp  that  Grandpa 
Martin  made,  and  he  knew  just  how  to  do  it 
right,  even  to  digging  little  trenches,  or 
ditches,  around  the  tents  so  the  water  would 
run  off  when  it  stormed. 

"And  now  let's  take  a  walk  and  see  what 
we  can  find,"  suggested  Ted  to  Janet,  when 
Mother  Martin  said  they  might  play  about 


60          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

until  supper  was  ready,  for  they  had  called 
the  lunch  they  had  eaten  their  dinner. 

" Don't  go  too  far,"  cautioned  Mother 
Martin. 

"Oh,  we  can't  get  lost  on  this  island,"  said 
Ted.  "All  we'd  have  to  do,  if  we  were, 
would  be  to  walk  along  the  shore  until  we 
came  to  this  camp." 

"I  know  that.  But  it  wasn't  so  much 
about  your  getting  lost  that  I  was  thinking," 
said  Mrs.  Martin. 

"Oh,  you  mean — the  tramps?"  half  whis- 
pered Janet. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  whether  there  are 
any  here  or  not, ' '  went  on  her  mother.  ' '  But 
it's  best  to  be  careful  until  grandpa  has  had 
a  chance  to  look  about.  Where  is  grandpa 
now?" 

"He's  getting  some  water  at  the  spring," 
Ted  answered. 

There  was  a  fine  spring  on  Star  Island, 
not  far  from  the  place  where  the  tents  had 
been  set  up,  and  Mr.  Martin  was  now  bring- 
ing pails  of  water  from  that  and  pouring 
them  into  a  barrel  which  would  hold  so  much 
that  even  Trouble  would  have  plenty  to 
drink  no  matter  how  thirsty  he  was. 

"Well,  don't  go  too  far  away  until  either 


The  Bag  of  Salt 


grandpa  or  I  have  a  chance  to  go  with  you," 
added  Mrs.  Martin.  * 

"Me  come,  too,"  called  Trouble,  as  he  saw 
his  brother  and  sister  starting  off. 

1  'Oh,  Mother!"  exclaimed  Teddy. 

"No,  you  stay  with  mother,"  said  Mrs. 
Martin.  "I'll  give  you  a  nice  drink  of 
milk." 

"Don't  want  milk.  I  'shad  milk.  Trouble 
want  Ted  an'  Jan." 

"But  you  can't  go  with  them,  my  dear. 
Come  on,  we'll  go  and  throw  stones  into  the 
lake  and  make-believe  it's  a  great,  big 
ocean!" 

Baby  William  pouted  a  little  at  first.  He 
liked  to  have  his  own  way.  But  when  he  saw 
what  fun  his  mother  was  having  tossing 
stones  into  the  lake  and  making  the  water 
splash  up,  Trouble  did  the  same,  laughing 
at  ,the  fun  he  was  having. 

"Dis  a  ocean,  Momsey1?"  he  asked  as  he 
set  a  little  stick  afloat,  making  believe  it  was, 
a  boat. 

"Well,  we'll  call  it  an  ocean,"  Mrs.  Mar- 
tin  answered.  "But  this  water  is  fresh,  and' 
that  in  the  ocean  is  very  salty.  Some  day 
I'll  take  you  and  my  two  little  Curlytops  to 
the  real  ocean,  and  you  can  taste  how  salty 


62          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

the  waves  are.  Now  we'll  throw  some  more 
stones. " 

Meanwhile  Ted  and  Jan  started  for  a  little 
walk  down  the  path  that  went  the  whole 
length  of  Star  Island. 

"Shall  we  take  Nicknack?"  asked  Jan. 

"No,  let's  wait  until  he  dries  off  after  his 
bath,"  decided  Teddy.  "I  don't  like  wet 
goats." 

"Why,  Teddy  Martin!  Nicknack  got 
dried  out  hours  ago !" 

"Well,  anyway,  a  goat  isn't  like  a  dog. 
We  don't  want  a  goat  along  when  we  are 
going  out  walking." 

So  Nicknack  was  left  to  nibble  the  grass, 
while  the  Curlytops  wandered  on  and  on. 
Grandpa  and  the  hired  men,  having  finished 
putting  up  the  tents,  were  getting  the  stove 
ready  so  Nora  could  get  supper. 

"What  are  you  looking  for?"  asked  Jan 
when  she  noticed  that  her  brother  walked 
along  as  if  searching  for  something.  "Are 
you  trying  to  see  if  any  tramps  or  gypsies 
are  here  on  the  island?" 

"No.  I  was  thinking  maybe  I  could  find 
that  fallen  star." 

"But  didn't  grandpa  say  it  all  melted 
upt" 


The  Bag  of  Salt 63 

"Maybe  a  piece  of  it's  left,"  went  on  Ted. 
This  was  the  second  time  that  he  had  spoken 
of  the  star  that  day.  "If  I  can't  find  a  chunk 
of  it,  maybe  I  can  find  the  hole  it  made  when 
it  hit,"  he  added.  "I'd  like  to  find  that. 
Maybe  it  would  be  bigger  than  the  one  I  dug 
when  I  thought  I  could  go  all  the  way 
through  to  China." 

"Yes.  The  time  Skyrocket  fell  in!" 
laughed  Jan.  ' '  'Member  that,  Teddy  ? ' ' 

"I  guess  I  do!  Daddy  had  to  go  out  in 
the  night  and  bring  him  in.  Come  on,  let's 
look  for  the  hole  the  shooting  star  made." 

"All  right." 

The  two  Curlytops  walked  on  over  the 
island,  looking  here  and  there  for  star-holes. 
They  found  a  number  of  deep  places,  but 
after  looking  at  them,  and  poking  sticks 
down  into  them,  Ted  decided  that  none  of 
them  Had  ever  held  a  shooting  star. 

"Maybe  bears  made  them,"  half  whis- 
pered Jan. 

"There  aren't  any  bears  on  this  island!" 
Teddy  declared. 

"I  hope  not,"  murmured  his  sister,  as  she 
looked  over  her  shoulder  and  then  kept  close 
to  her  brother  during  the  rest  of  the  walk. 

Pretty   soon   the    children   heard   their 


64 


mother's  voice  calling  them.  They  could 
hear  very  plainly,  for  the  air  was  clear. 

"I  guess  supper  is  ready,"  said  Janet. 

"I  hope  it  is!"  sighed  Ted.  "I'm  awful 
hungry!" 

Supper  was  ready,  smoking  hot  on  the 
table  in  the  dining-tent,  when  Ted  and  Jan 
reached  the  camp  grandpa  had  made. 

"Oh,  how  good  it  smells!"  cried  Ted. 

"And  how  nice  the  white  tents  look  under 
the  green  trees,"  added  his  sister.  "I  just 
love  it  here!" 

"It  is  the  nicest  place  we  have  yet  been  for 
the  summer  vacation,"  said  Mother  Martin. 
"This  and  Cherry  Farm  are  two  lovely 
places." 

They  sat  down  under  the  tent  and  began 
to  eat.  Nora  had  gotten  up  a  fine  supper, 
for  a  regular  cook  stove  had  been  brought 
along,  and  it  was  almost  like  eating  at 
Grandma  Martin's  table,  only  this  was  out 
of  doors,  for  the  sides  of  the  tent  were  raised 
to  let  in  the  air  and  the  rays  of  the  setting 
sun. 

"What's  the  matter,  Father?"  asked  Mrs. 
Martin,  as  she  saw  the  children's  grand- 
father pause  after  tasting  the  potatoes.  '  *  Is 
anything  wrong  ? ' ' 


The  Bag  of  Salt 65 

"I  think  I'd  like  a  little  more  salt  on 
these." 

"Yes,  they  do  need  salting.  Nora,  bring 
the  salt  please." 

"There  isn't  any,  except  what  I  used  when 
I  was  cooking — a  little  I  had  in  a  salt- 
shaker." 

"Oh,  yes,  there  must  be.  I  brought  a 
whole  bagful.  I  saw  it  when  I  unpacked 
some  of  the  things.  There  was  a  sack  of 
salt." 

"Well,  it  isn't  here  now,"  said  Nora,  as 
she  looked  among  her  kitchen  things. 

"Has  anyone  seen  the  bag  of  salt?"  asked 
Mrs.  Martin. 

She  looked  at  Ted  and  Jan,  who  shook 
their  heads.  Then  Trouble's  mother  looked 
at  him.  He  was  busy  with  a  piece  of  bread 
and  jam.  One  could  have  told  Trouble  had 
been  eating  bread  and  jam  just  by  looking  at 
his  mouth  and  face. 

"Did  you  see  the  salt.  Trouble?"  asked 
his  mother. 

"Iss,  I  did,"  he  answered,  taking  another 
bite. 

"Where  is  it?" 

"In  de  water,"  he  replied.  "I  puts  it  in 
de  water." 


66          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"You  put  the  salt  in  the  water?  What 
water?  Tell  mother,  Trouble." 

"I  puts  salt  in  de  lake  water  to  make  him 
'ike  ocean.  Trouble  'ike  ocean.  Come  on,  I 
show!"  and,  getting  down  out  of  his  chair, 
he  toddled  toward  a  little  cove  near  the 
camp.  The  others,  following  him,  saw  some- 
thing white  on  the  ground  near  the  edge  of 
the  lake.  Grandpa  Martin  touched  it  with 
his  finger  and  tasted. 

"The  little  tyke  did  empty  the  whole  bag 
of  salt  in  the  lake!"  cried  the  farmer. 
"Fancy  his  trying  to  make  it  like  the  ocean ! 
Ho!  Ho!" 

"Oh,  Trouble !"  cried  Mrs.  Martin.  "You 
wasted  a  whole  bag  of  salt,  and  now  grandpa 
hasn't  any  for  his  potatoes !" 


CHAPTER  VI 

TED  AND  THE  BEAR 

BABY  WILLIAM  looked  a  little  bit  fright- 
ened and  ashamed  as  his  mother  spoke  to 
him  in  that  way.  He  loved  his  grandfather, 
and  of  course  he  would  not  have  done  any- 
thing to  make  him  feel  bad  if  he  had 
thought.  But  Trouble  was  a  very  little 
fellow,  though  his  father  often  said  he  could 
get  into  as  many  kinds  of  mischief  as  could 
the  larger  Curlytops. 

* l  Oh  dear !  This  is  too  bad ! ' '  went  on  Mrs. 
Martin.  "Why  did  you  do  it,  Trouble? 
What  made  you  empty  the  bag  of  salt  into 
the  lake?" 

' '  Want  to  make  ocean  wif  salt  water, ' '  was 
the  answer. 

"I  suppose  it's  my  fault,  for  telling  him 
so  much  about  the  big  sea  and  its  salt 
water,''  said  Trouble's  mother.  "He  liked 
to  hear  me  talk  about  the  ocean,  and  I  guess 

67 


08          The  Curly  to  pa  on  Star  Island 

he  must  have  been  thinking  about  it  more 
than  I  had  any  idea  of. 

"He  must  have  tasted  the  water  of  the 
lake,  and  found  it  wasn't  salty,  and  then  he 
thought  that,  to  make  an  ocean  and  big 
waves  out  of  a  lake,  all  he  had  to  do  was  to 
put  in  the  salt.  I'm  sorry,  Father." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  laughed  Grandpa 
Martin.  "I  guess  I  can  get  along  without 
any  more  salt." 

"Trouble  sorry,  too,"  said  the  little  fel- 
low, when  he  understood  that  he  had  done 
something  wrong.  "Me  get  salt  water  for 
you,"  and  he  started  toward  the  place  where 
he  had  emptied  the  bag  into  the  water,  carry- 
ing a  spoon  from  the  table. 

"No,  Trouble!  Come  back!"  ordered  his 
mother.  "I  guess  he  wants  to  dip  up  some 
salt  water  for  you,"  she  said  laughingly  to 
the  children's  grandfather,  "but  he'd  be 
more  likely  to  fall  in  himself." 

She  caught  Trouble  up  in  her  arms  and 
kissed  him,  and  then  Nora  managed  to  find 
a  little  salt  in  the  bottom  of  the  shaker,  so 
Grandpa  Martin  had  some  on  his  potatoes 
after  all.  But  Trouble  was  told  he  must 
never  again  do  anything  like  that. 

He  promised,  of  course,  but  Jan  said : 


Ted  and  the  Bear  69 

"He'll  do  something  else,  just  as  bad." 

"I  guess  he  will,"  laughed  Teddy. 

Supper  over,  Mr.  Martin  took  his  two  men 
over  to  the  mainland.  On  his  return  they 
all  gathered  about  a  little  campfire  grandpa 
made  in  front  of  the  sleeping  tent.  The  cot 
beds  had  been  set  up,  and  a  mosquito  netting 
was  hung  at  the  "front  door"  of  the  white 
canvas  house,  though  really  there  was  no 
door,  just  two  flaps  of  the  tent  that  could  be 
tied  together.  But  the  netting  kept  out  the 
bugs.  Fortunately  there  were  no  mosqui- 
toes, though  all  sorts  of  moths,  snapping 
bugs  and  other  flying  things  came  around 
whenever  a  lantern  was  lighted. 

4 'Tell  us  a  story,  Grandpa!"  begged 
Janet,  when  they  had  finished  talking  about 
the  many  things  that  had  happened  during 
the  first  day  in  camp. 

"Tell  us  about  the  shooting  star  that  fell 
on  this  island,"  begged  Teddy. 

"Tell  us  about  de  twamps!"  exclaimed 
Trouble,  who  ought  to  have  been  asleep,  but 
who  had  begged  to  stay  up  a  little  longer 
than  usual. 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  the 
tramps,"  laughed  grandpa,  "and  I  don't  be- 
lieve there  are  any  on  the  island,  though  it  is 


70          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

a  large  one,  and  it  will  take  two  or  three 
days  for  us  to  walk  all  about  it. 

4 'As  for  the  shooting  star,  which  Teddy 
thinks  about  so  much,  I  really  didn't  see  it 
fall,  and  all  J  know  is  what  the  old  men  in 
the  village  have  told  me.  It  was  many  years 
ago." 

"And  did  you  ever  see  the  blue  light?" 
asked  Ted,  thinking  of  what  he  and  his  sis- 
ter had  seen  the  night  they  were  coming 
home  from  the  little  visit  to  Hal  Chester. 

"No,  I  never  did;  though  I'd  like  to,  so 
I  might  know  what  it  was." 

"Children,  how  is  grandpa  ever  going  to 
tell  you  a  story  if  you  keep  asking  him  so 
many  questions?"  laughed  Mrs.  Martin. 

"All  right — now  we'll  listen,"  promised 
Teddy,  and  Grandpa  Martin  told  a  tale  of 
when  he  was  a  little  boy,  and  lived  further 
to  the  north  and  on  the  edge  of  a  big  wood 
where  there  were  bears  and  other  wild  ani- 
mals. His  father  was  a  good  hunter, 
Grandpa  Martin  said,  and  often  used  to  kill 
bears  and  wolves,  for  the  country  was  wild, 
with  never  so  much  as  one  automobile  in  it. 

Grandpa  finished  his  story  of  the  olden 
days  by  telling  of  once  when  he  was  a  small 
boy,  coming  home  through  the  woods  toward 


Ted  and  the  Bear  71 

dark  one  evening  and  being  chased  by  a  bear. 
But  he  crawled  into  a  hollow  log  where  the 
bear  could  not  get  him,  and  later  his  father 
and  some  other  hunters  came,  shot  the  bear 
and  got  the  little  boy  safely  out. 

"Whew!"  whistled  Teddy,  when  this  was 
finished.  "  I  'd  like  to  have  been  there ! ' ' 

"In  the  log,  hiding  away  from  the  bear?" 
asked  his  mother. 

"No,  I — I  guess  not  that,"  Ted  answered. 
"I'd  just  like  to  have  seen  it  up  in  a  tree, 
where  the  bear  couldn't  get  me. " 

"Bears  can  climb  trees,"  remarked  Janet. 

"Well,  I'd  go  up  in  a  little  tree  too  small 
for  a  bear,"  her  brother  answered. 

"I  guess  you'd  all  better  go  to  your  little 
beds!"  laughed  Mother  Martin.  "It's  long 
past  your  sleepy  time." 

And  the  Curlytops  and  Trouble  were  soon 
sound  asleep. 

It  must  have  been  about  the  middle  of  the 
night — anyhow  it  was  quite  late — when 
Teddy,  who  was  sleeping  in  his  cot  next  to 
one  of  the  side  walls  of  the  tent,  was  sud- 
denly awakened  by  a  noise  outside,  and 
something  seemed  to  be  trying  to  get 
through. 

!Oh!   Oh!"  cried  Teddy,  quickly  sitting 


.. 


7*2        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

up  in  bed,  and  wide  awake  all  at  once.  "Oh, 
Mother !  Something's  after  me !  It's  a  bear ! 
It's  a  bear!" 

"Hush!"  quickly  exclaimed  Mrs.  Martin. 
"You'll  waken  William,  and  frighten  him !" 

"But  Mother!  I'm  sure  it's  a  bear!  He 
growled!" 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Jan,  from  her  cot  on 
the  other  side  of  the  tent. 

"It's  a  bear!"  cried  Ted  again. 

There  did  seem  to  be  something  going  on 
outside  the  tent  near  Ted's  side.  There  was 
a  crackling  in  the  bushes,  and  once  some- 
thing came  pushing  hard  against  the  side  of 
the  white  canvas  house  with  force  enough 
to  make  a  bulge  in  it.  Teddy  jumped  up 
from  his  cot  and  ran  over  to  his  mother,  who 
was  sitting  up  on  her  bed. 

"Oh,  Mother!  It's  coming  in!"  cried 
Teddy. 

"Nonsense!"  and  Mrs.  Martin  laughed  as 
she  put  her  arms  around  her  small  son. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Grandpa  Martin 
from  the  curtained-off  part  of  the  tent  where 
he  slept. 

"It's  a  bear!"  cried  Janet. 

Just  then,  from  outside  came  a  loud : 

"Baa-a-a-a-a!" 


Ted  and  the  Bear  73 

Teddy  looked  very  much  surprised.  Then 
he  smiled.  Then  he  laughed  and  cried : 

"Why,  it's  our  goat  Nicknack!" 

1  i  I  guess  that 's  what  it  is, ' '  added  Grandpa 
Martin.  i  l  But  he  seems  to  be  in  trouble.  I  '11 
go  outside  and  look." 

Taking  a  lantern  with  him,  while  Mrs. 
Martin  and  the  children  waited  a  bit 
anxiously,  Grandpa  Martin  went  to  see  what 
had  happened.  The  Curlytops  heard  him 
laughing  as  they  saw  the  flicker  of  his  light 
through  the  white  tent.  Then  they  heard 
Nicknack  bleating  again.  The  goat  seemed, 
to  those  inside,  to  be  kicking  about  with  his 
little  black  hoofs. 

"Whoa there,  Nicknack!"  called  Grandpa 
Martin.  "Ill  soon  get  you  loose!" 

There  was  more  noise,  more  tramping  in 
the  bushes  and  then,  after  a  while,  Grandpa 
Martin  came  back. 

"What  was  it?"  asked  Ted  and  Jan  in 
whispers,  for  their  mother  had  begged  them 
not  to  awaken  Trouble,  who  was  still  sleep- 
ing peacefully. 

' 1  It  was  your  goat, ' '  was  the  answer.  ' l  He 
had  got  loose,  and  his  horns  were  caught  Be- 
tween two  trees  where  he  had  tried  to  jump. 
He  was  held  fast  bv  his  horns  and  he  was 


74          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

kicking  his  heels  up  in  the  air,  trying  to  get 
loose/' 

"Did  you  get  him  out?"  asked  Jan. 

'Yes,  I  pried  the  trees  apart  and  got  his 
head  loose.  Then  he  was  all  right.  I  tied 
him  good  and  tight  in  his  stable,  and  I  giu  .* 
he  won't  bother  us  again  to-night." 

"Then  it  wasn't  a  bear  after  all,"  re- 
marked Jan,  laughing  at  her  brother. 

"No,  indeed!  There  aren't  any  bears  on 
this  island,"  said  her  grandfather.  "Go  to 
sleep." 

Nothing  else  happened  the  rest  of  the 
night,  and  they  all  slept  rather  late  the  next 
morning,  for  they  were  tired  from  the  work 
of  the  day  -before.  The  sun  was  shining 
over  Clover  Lake  when  Nora  rang  the  break- 
fast bell,  and  Ted  and  Jan  hurried  with  their 
dressing,  for  they  were  eager  to  be  at  their 
play. 

"What '11  we  do  to-day?"  asked  Janet,  as 
she  tried  to  get  a  comb  through  her  thick, 
curly  hair. 

"We'll  go  for  a  rid«  with  Nicknack,"  de- 
cided Ted,  who  was  also  having  a  hard  time 
with  his  locks.  "Oh,  I  wish  I  was  a  bar- 
ber!" he  cried,  as  the  comb  stuck  in  a  bunch 
of  curls. 


Ted  and  the  Bear  75 

"Why?"  asked  his  mother,  who  was  giv- 
ing Trouble  his  breakfast. 

"  'Cause  then  I'd  cut  my  own  hair  short, 
and  I'd  never  have  to  comb  it." 

"Oh,  I  wouldn't  want  to  see  you  without 
your  curls,"  Mother  Martin  said.  "Here, 
I'll  help  you  as  soon  as  I  feed  Trouble." 

Trouble  could  feed  himself  when  his  plate 
had  been  set  in  front  of  him,  and  while  he 
was  eating  Mrs.  Martin  made  her  two  Curly- 
tops  look  better  by  the  use  of  their  combs. 

After  breakfast  the  children  ran  to  hitch 
Nicknack  to  the  wagon.  Grandpa  Martin 
was  going  back  in  the  rowboat  to  the  main- 
land to  get  a  few  things  that  had  been  for- 
gotten, and  also  another  bag  of  salt. 

"And  I'll  hide  it  away  from  Trouble," 
said  Nora  with  a  laugh.  "We  don't  want 
any  more  salty  oceans  around  here." 

"Let's  drive  away  before  Trouble  sees 
us,"  proposed  Jan  to  her  brother.  "He'll 
\vant  to  come  for  a  ride  and  we  can't  go  very 
far  if  he  comes  along." 

"All  right.  Stoop  down  and  walk  behind 
the  bushes.  Then  he  can't  see  us." 

Jan  and  Ted  managed  to  get  away  unseen, 
and  were  soon  hitching  their  goat  to  the 
wagon.  Trouble  finished  his  breakfast  and 


76        The   Curlyiops   on  Star  Island 

called  to  them,  wanting  to  go  with  them 
wherever  they  went.  But  his  mother  knew 
the  two  Curlytops  did  not  want  Trouble  with 
them  every  time,  so  Baby  William  had  to 
play  by  himself  about  camp,  while  the  two 
older  children  drove  off  on  a  path  that  led 
the  long  way  of  the  island. 

4 'Maybe  we'll  have  an  adventure,"  sug- 
gested Jan,  as  she  sat  in  the  cart  driving 
the  goat,  for  she  and  her  brother  took  turns 
at  this  fun. 

"Maybe  we'll  see  some  of  the  tramps,"  he 
added. 

"I  don't  want  to,"  said  Jan. 

"Well,  maybe  we'll  see  a  bear." 

"I  don't  want  that,  either.  I  wish  you 
wouldn't  say  such  things,  Teddy." 

"Well,  what  do  you  want  to  see?" 

"Oh,  something  nice — flowers  or  birds  or 
maybe  a  fairy." 

"Huh!  I  guess  there's  no  fairies  on  this 
island,  either.  Let's  see  if  we  can  find  an 
apple  tree.  I'd  like  an  apple." 

"So  would  I.  But  we  mustn't  eat  green 
ones." 

"Not  if  they're  too  green,"  agreed  Teddy. 
"But  a  little  green  won't  hurt." 

They  drove  on,  Nicknack  trotting  along 


Ted  and  the  Bear  77 

the  path  through  the  woods,  now  and  then 
stopping  to  nibble  at  the  leaves.  At  last  the 
children  came  to  a  beautiful  shady  spot, 
where  many  ferns  grew  beneath  the  trees, 
and  it  was  so  cool  that  they  stopped  their 
goat,  tied  him  to  an  old  stump  and  sat  down 
to  eat  some  cookies  their  mother  had  given 
them.  The  Cuiiytops  nearly  always  became 
hungry  when  they  were  out  on  their  little 
trips. 

"Wouldn't  it  be  funny,"  remarked  Ted, 
after  a  bit,  "if  we  should  see  a  bear?" 

"The-o-dore  Martin!"  gasped  Janet.  "I 
wish  you'd  keep  quiet !  It  makes  me  scared 
to  hear  you  say  that." 

"Well,  I  was  only  foolin',"  and  Teddy 
dropped  a  "g,"  a  habit  of  which  his  mother 
was  trying  to  break  him.  And  he  did  not 
often  forget. 

"If  I  saw  a  bear,"  began  Janet,  "I'd  just 
scream  and " 

Suddenly  she  stopped  because  of  a  queer 
look  she  saw  on  her  brother's  face.  Teddy 
dropped  the  cookie  he  had  been  about  to  bite, 
and,  pointing  toward  a  hollow  log  that  lay 
not  far  off,  said,  in  a  hoarse  whisper: 

"Look,  Jan!    It  is  a  bear!" 


CHAPTER  VII 

JAN  SEES  SOMETHING 

FOR  a  moment  after  her  brother  had  said 
this  Janet  did  not  speak.  She,  too,  dropped 
the  cookie  she  had  just  taken  from  the  bag, 
and  turned  slowly  around  to  see  at  what 
Teddy  was  pointing. 

She  was  just  in  time  to  see  something 
furry  and  reddish-brown  in  color  dart  into 
the  hollow  log,  which  was  open  at  both  ends. 
Then  Jan  gave  a  scream. 

"Oh I"  exclaimed  Ted,  who  was  as  much 
frightened  by  Janet's  shrill  voice  as  he  was 
at  what  he  had  seen.  "Oh,  Jan!  Don't!" 

*  *  I — I  couldn  't  help  it, ' '  she  answered.  * '  I 
told  you  I'd  scream  if  I  saw  a  bear,  and  I  did 
see  one.  It  is  a  bear,  isn't  it,  Teddy?" 

"  It  is, "  he  answered.  ' '  I  saw  it  first.  It 's 
my  bear!" 

"You  can  have  it — every  bit  of  it,"  said 
Jan,  quickly  getting  up  from  the  mossy  rock 

78 


Jan  Sees  Something  79 

on  which  she  had  been  sitting.  "I  don't 
want  any  of  it,  not  even  the  stubby  tail.  I 
like  to  own  half  of  Nicknack  with  you,  but  I 
don't  want  half  a  bear." 

"Then  I'll  take  all  of  it— it's  my  bear," 
went  on  Ted.  '  '  Where  're  you  going,  Jan  1 ' ' 
he  asked,  as  he  saw  his  sister  hurrying  away. 

"I'm  going  home.  I  don't  like  it  here. 
I'm  going  to  make  Nicknack  run  home  with 


me.' 


Teddy  got  up,  too.  He  did  not  stop  to 
pick  up  the  cookie  he  had  dropped. 

"I — I  guess  I'll  go  with  you,  Jan,"  he 
said.  "I  guess  my  bear  will  stay  in  the  log 
until  I  come  back." 

"Are  you  coming  back!"  asked  Janet,  as 
with  trembling  fingers  she  unfastened  Nick- 
nack 's  strap  from  around  the  stump  to 
which  he  had  been  tied. 

"I'm  going  to  get  grandpa  to  come  back 
with  me  and  shoot  the  bear,"  replied  Ted. 
"I  want  his  skin  to  make  a  rug.  You  know 
— like  grandpa  did  with  the  bear  his  father 
shot." 

Jan  did  not  say  anything.  She  got  into 
the  cart  and  turned  the  goat  about,  ready  to 
leave  the  place.  She  gave  a  look  over  her 
shoulder  at  the  hollow  log  into  which  she  and 


Ted  had  seen  the  furry,  brown  animal 
crawl.  It  did  not  seem  to  be  coming  out,  and 
Jan  was  glad  of  that. 

"Giddap,  Nicknack!"  she  called  to  the 
goat,  and  as  the  animal  started  off  Ted 
jumped  into  the  wagon  from  behind. 

"I  wish  I  had  a  gun,"  he  said. 

"You're  too  little,"  declared  Jan.  "Oh, 
Ted!  what  if  he  should  chase  us?  Was  it 
an  awful  big  bear?  I  didn't  dare  look 
much." 

"It  wasn't  so  very  big." 

"Was  it  as  big  as  Nicknack?" 

"Oh,  bigger 'n  him — a  lot." 

"Oh!"  and  again  Jan  looked  back  over 
her  shoulder.  ' 1 1  hope  he  doesn  't  chase  us, ' ' 
she  added. 

"I'll  fix  him  if  he  does!"  threatened  Ted. 
"I'll  fix  him!" 

* '  How  ?  You  haven 't  any  gun,  and  maybe 
you  couldn't  shoot  it  if  you  had,  lessen  maybe 
it  was  your  Christmas  pop  gun." 

"Pooh!  Pop  guns  wouldn't  be  any  good 
to  shoot  a  bear!  You've  got  to  have  real 
bullets.  But  I  can  fix  this  bear  if  he  chases 
us,"  and  Ted  tried  to  look  brave. 

"How?"  asked  Jan  again.  She  felt  safer 
now,  for  Nicknack  was  going  fast,  and  the 


Jan  Sees  Something  81 

hollow  log,  into  which  the  furry  animal  had 
crawled,  was  out  of  siglt. 

"Ill  make  our  goat  buck  the  bear  with  his 
horns  if  he  chases  us,  that's  what  111  do!" 
declared  Ted. 

"Oh,  that  would  be  good!"  exclaimed  Jan 
in  delight.  "Nicknack  is  brave  and  his 
horns  are  sharp.  'Member  how  he  stuck  'em 
in  the  fence  one  day?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Ted,  "I  do.  And  111 
get  him  to  stick  'em  in  the  bear  if  he  comes 
too  close.  Giddap,  Nicknack!"  and  Ted 
flicked  the  goat  with  the  ends  of  the  reins. 
I  think  he  wanted  the  goat  to  go  faster  so 
there  would  be  no  danger  of  the  bear's  chas- 
ing after  him  and  his  sister.  Perhaps  Ted 
thought  Nicknack  might  be  afraid  of  the 
bear,  even  if  the  goat  did  have  sharp  horns. 

The  Curlytops  were  greatly  excited  when 
they  reached  the  camp.  Trouble  was  play- 
ing out  in  front  and  Grandpa  Martin  had 
just  landed  in  the  boat. 

"What's  that?"  he  cried,  when  he  heard 
Ted 's  story.  ' '  A  bear  in  a  hollow  log  ?  Non- 
sense !  There  are  no  bears  on  Star  Island." 

"But  I  saw  it,  and  so  did  Janet.  Didn't 
you,  Jan?"  cried  Ted. 

saw  something  fuzzy  with  a  big  tail 


*<• 


82          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

going  inside  the  log,"  answered  Teddy's  sis- 
ter. 

"Then  it  couldn't  have  been  a  bear," 
laughed  Grandpa  Martin.  "For  a  bear  has 
only  a  little  short,  stubby  tail.  I  '11  go  to  see 
what  it  is.  I  think  I  know,  however." 

"What?"  asked  Mother  Martin.  "Don't 
go  into  any  danger,  Father." 

"I  won't,"  promised  the  farmer.  "But 
I  won't  tell  you  what  I  think  the  animal  is 
until  I  see  it.  I  may  be  mistaken." 

"Maybe  it's  a  twamp,"  put  in  Trouble, 
who  seemed  to  be  thinking  about  them  as 
much  as  Ted  thought  about  the  fallen  star. 

"Tramps  aren't  animals,"  laughed  Jan. 

"Furry  animals,  anyway,"  added  Ted. 

"Well,  you  stay  here  and  I'll  go  see  what 
it  was,"  went  on  grandpa,  and  he  started  off 
toward  the  hollow  log  with  a  big  club.  He 
was  not  gone  very  long,  and  when  he  came 
back  he  was  laughing,  as  he  had  the  night 
before  when  Nicknack  gave  them  a  scare. 

"Just  as  I  thought!"  cried  the  children's 
grandpa.  "It  was  a  big,  red  fox  in  the  hol- 
low log." 

"And  not  a  bear?"  asked  Ted. 

"Not  a  bear,  Curlytop!  Only  a  fox  that 
was  more  frightened  by  you  than  you  were 


Jan  Sees  Something  83 

by  him,  I  guess.  I  knew  it  couldn't  be  a 
bear." 

"How  did  you  get  it  out  of  the  log?" 
asked  Jan. 

"Oh,  I  just  tapped  on  the  log  with  my 
club,  and  Mr.  Fox  must  have  thought  it  was 
somebody  knocking  at  his  front  door.  For 
out  he  ran,  looked  at  me  with  his  bright  eyes, 
and  then  away  he  ran  into  the  woods.  So 
you  Curlytops  needn't  be  afraid.  The  fox 
won't  hurt  you." 

"  I  'm  glad  of  that, ' '  said  Jan.  ' l  Now  let 's 
go  fishing,  Ted." 

"All  right,"  he  agreed. 

* i  Can 't  you  take  Trouble  with  you  ? ' '  asked 
his  mother.  "I  want  to  help  Nora  and 
grandpa  do  a  little  work  around  the  camp." 

4 '  Yes,  we '11  take  him, ' '  agreed  Jan.  "But 
you  mustn't  put  any  salt  in  the  water, 
Trouble,  and  scare  the  fish." 

"I  not  do  it.    I  tatch  a  fiss  myself." 

They  gave  him  a  pole  and  a  line  without 
any  hook  on  it  so  he  could  not  scratch  him- 
self, and  then  Jan  and  Ted  sat  down  under 
a  shady  tree,  not  far  from  camp,  to  try  to 
catch  some  fish. 

Thev  knew  how,  for  their  father  had 
taught  them,  and  soon  Jan  had  landed  a 


84          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

good-sized  sunfish.  A  little  later  Ted  caught 
a  perch  which  had  stripes  on  its  sides,  "like 
a  zebra,"  as  Jan  said.  After  that  Jan  and 
Ted  each  caught  two  fish,  and  they  soon  had 
enough  to  cook. 

"What  do  you  Curlytops  want  me  to  do 
with  these  ?"  asked  Nora,  as  the  two  chil- 
dren came  along,  laughing  and  shouting, 
with  the  fish  dangling  from  strings  each  of 
them  carried. 

"Cook  'em,  of  course!"  cried  Teddy. 
"That's  what  we  caught  them  for,  Nora — to 
have  you  cook  them." 

"But  won't  they  bite  me?"  asked  the 
cook,  pretending  to  be  afraid. 

"Oh,  no !    They  can't !"  explained  Jan. 

"They  bit  on  our  hooks,  and  now  they 
can't  bite  any  more,  but  we  can  bite  them," 
said  Teddy. 

"Oh,  would  you  bite  the  poor  fish?"  asked 
Nora. 

For  a  moment  the  Curlytops  did  not  know 
what  to  answer.  Then  Teddy  replied: 

"Oh,  well,  it  can't  hurt  'em  to  bite  'em 
after  they're  cooked,  can  it?" 

"No,  I  guess  not,"  laughed  Nora,  "no 
more  than  it  can  hurt  a  baked  potato.  Well, 
run  along  and  I'll  get  the  fish  ready  for 


Jan  Sees  Something  85 

dinner,  or  whatever  you  call  the  next  meal. 
I  declare,  I'm  so  mixed  up  with  this  camp- 
ing business  that  I  hardly  know  breakfast 
from  supper.  But  run  along,  and  111  fry 
the  fish  for  you,  anyhow." 

"Let's  go  and  take  a  walk,"  proposed 
Tan,  when  they  had  washed  their  hands  in 
the  tin  basin  that  Mother  Martin  had  set  on 
a  bench  under  a  tree,  with  a  towel  and  soap 
near  by,  for  fish  did  leave  such  a  funny  smell 
on  your  hands,  the  little  girl  said. 

"'Where  11  we  walk  to  <?"  asked  Teddy. 

"Oh,  let's  go  and  look.  Maybe  we  can 
find  that  cute  little  bunny  we  saw  when  we 
were  looking  for  the  den  where  the  fox  lived 
but  didn't  find  him,"  proposed  Jan. 

"All  right,"  answered  Teddy,  and  they  set 
off. 

They  had  not  gone  very  far  before  Teddy 
stopped  near  a  bush  and  began  to  look  about 
him. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  his  sister. 

"Why,  I  saw  a  bird  fly  out  of  here,"  an- 
swered her  brother,  "and  it  seemed  just  as  if 
it  had  a  broken  wing.  It  couldn't  fly — 
hardly." 

"Where  is  if?"  asked  Jan  eagerly. 
"Maybe  if  we  take  it  to  mother  she  can  fix 


86          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

the  wing.  Once  she  mended  a  dog's  broken 
leg,  and  he  could  walk  'most  as  good  as 
ever  when  he  got  well,  only  he  limped  a 
little." 

"But  a  dog  can't  fly,"  said  Teddy. 

'  *  I  know  it, ' '  agreed  Jan.  ' '  But  if  mother 
can  mend  a  broken  leg,  she  can  fix  a  broken 
wing,  can't  she?" 

"Maybe,"  admitted  her  brother.  "Oh, 
there's  the  bird  again,  Jan !  See  how  it  flut- 
ters along !"  and  the  little  boy  pointed  to  one 
that  was  dragging  itself  along  over  the 
ground  as  though  its  wings  or  legs  were 
broken  or  hurt. 

"Come  on!"  cried  Teddy.  "Maybe  we 
can  catch  the  bird,  Jan!" 

Brother  and  sister  started  after  the  little 
feathered  songster,  which  was  making  a 
queer,  chirping  noise.  Then  Jan  suddenly 
called : 

"Oh,  here's  another!" 

And,  surely  enough,  there  was  a  second 
bird  acting  almost  as  was  the  first — flutter- 
ing along,  half  hopping  and  half  flying 
through  the  grass. 

"We'll  get  'em  both!"  yelled  Teddy,  and 
he  and  Jan  hurried  along.  But,  somehow  or 
other,  as  soon  as  they  came  almost  to  the 


Jan  Sees  Something  87 

place  where  they  could  reach  out  and  touch 
one  of  the  birds,  which  acted  as  though  it 
could  not  go  a  bit  farther,  the  little  creature 
would  manage  to  flutter  on  just  beyond  the 
eager  hands  of  the  children. 

"That's  funny!"  exclaimed  Teddy.  "I 
almost  had  one  of  'em  that  time !" 

' '  So  did  I ! "  added  Janet.  ' '  Now  I  'm  sure 
I  can  get  this  one!"  and  she  ran  forward  to 
grasp  the  fluttering  bird,  but  it  managed  to 
hop  along,  just  out  of  her  reach. 

The  one  Ted  was  after  did  the  same  thing, 
and  for  some  time  the  children  hurried  on 
after  the  birds.  At  last  the  two  songsters, 
with  little  chirps  and  calls,  suddenly  flew 
high  in  the  air  and  circled  back  through  the 
woods. 

"Well,  would  you  look  at  that!"  cried 
Teddy,  in  surprise. 

"They  can  fy,  after  all!"  gasped  Janet. 
"What  d'you  s'pose  made  'em  pretend  they 
couldn't?" 

"I — I  guess  they  wanted  to  fool  us,"  said 
her  brother. 

And  that  really  was  it.  The  little  birds 
had  built  a  nest  in  a  low  bush,  close  to  the 
ground  where  the  children  could  easily  have 
reached  it  if  they  had  seen  it.  And  they 


88 


were  very  close  to  it,  though  their  eyes  had 
not  spied  it. 

But  the  birds  had  seen  the  Curlytops  and, 
fearing  that  Jan  and  Ted  might  take  out  the 
eggs  in  the  nest,  the  wise  little  birds  had 
pretended  to  be  willing  to  let  the  boy  and 
girl  catch  them  instead  of  robbing  the  nest. 

Of  course,  Jan  and  Ted  wouldn't  have4 
done  such  a  thing  as  that!  But  the  birds 
knew  no  differently.  Not  all  birds  act  this 
way — pretending  to  be  hurt,  or  that  they 
can't  fly — to  get  people  to  chase  after  them, 
and  so  keep  far  away  from  the  little  nests. 
But  this  particular  kind  of  bird  always  does 
that. 

Some  day,  if  you  are  in  the  woods  or  the 
fields,  and  see  one  bird — or  two — acting  in 
this  queer  way,  as  though  it  could  not  fly  or 
walk,  and  as  though  it  wanted  you  to  hurry 
after  it  and  try  to  catch  it — if  you  see  a  bird 
acting  that  way  you  may  be  sure  you  are 
near  its  nest  and  eggs  and  this  is  the  way 
the  bird  does  to  get  you  away. 

"Let's  look  for  their  nest,"  suggested 
Teddy,  when  the"  two  birds  had  flown  far 
away,  back  through  the  woods. 

"Oh,  no,"  answered  Jan.  "We  don't 
want  to  scare  them.  Maybe  we  can  look  at 


Jan  Sees  Something  89 

the  nest  of  a  bird  that  won't  mind  if  we 
watch  her  feeding  her  little  ones." 

And,  a  little  later,  they  came  to  a  bush  in 
which  was  a  robin's  nest.  In  it  were  some 
tiny  birds,  and,  by  standing  on  their  tiptoes, 
and  bending  the  nest  down  a  little  way,  the 
Curlytops  could  look  in.  The  baby  birds, 
which  had  only  just  begun  to  grow  feathers, 
opened  their  mouths  as  wide  as  they  could, 
thinking,  I  suppose,  that  Jan  and  Ted  had 
worms  or  bugs  for  them. 

But  the  children  did  not  have. 

"Your  mother  will  soon  be  along  to  feed 
you,"  said  Janet,  and  soon  the  mother  bird 
did  come  flying  back  from  the  field.  She 
seemed  afraid  at  first,  when  she  saw  how 
close  Jan  and  Ted  were  to  her  nest,  but  the 
children  soon  walked  away,  and  then  the 
robin  fed  her  young. 

Ted  and  Jan  had  a  nice  walk  through  the 
woods  and  then  they  went  back  to  camp. 

"We'll  take  Trouble  for  a  walk,  so  mother 
won't  have  to  look  after  him  so  much,"  said 
Janet.  "Come,  Trouble!" 

"Show  me  where  the  fox  was,"  begged 
Baby  William,  and  Ted  and  Jan  turned 
their  steps  that  way.  But  there  was  no  sign 
of  the  big-tailed  animal  in  the  hollow  log, 


90          The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

though  the  children  pounded  on  it  as  Grand- 
pa Martin  said  he  had  done. 

Then  they  wandered  on  a  little  farther  in 
the  beautiful  woods.  Jan  saw  some  flowers 
she  wanted  to  gather,  and  leaving  the  path 
where  Ted  stood  to  take  care  of  his  little 
brother,  she  began  picking  a  handful. 

Janet  saw  so  many  pretty  blossoms  that 
she  went  a  little  farther  than  she  meant  to, 
and,  before  she  knew  it,  she  had  lost  sight 
of  her  two  brothers,  though  she  could  hear 
them  talking. 

'Suddenly,  after  crawling  through  some 
bushes,  Jan  found  herself  on  another  path. 
On  the  other  side  of  it  she  saw  some  black- 
eyed  Susans. 

"Oh,  I  must  get  some  of  them!"  she  cried. 

She  darted  across  the  path,  and,  as  she  was 
about  to  pick  the  flowers,  she  saw,  standing 
behind  a  big  tree,  a  man  who  had  on  very 
ragged  clothes.  He  looked  at  Jan,  who 
dropped  her  bouquet  and  gasped: 

"Oh!    Oh,  dear!" 

The  ragged  man  looked  at  Janet  and 
smiled.  But  Jan  did  not  smile.  One 
thought  only  was  in  her  mind. 

"Here  is  one  of  the  tramps!" 


"HERE   IS   ONE   OF   THE   TRAMPS!' 

The   Curly  tops  on   Star  Island 


Page  90 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TROUBLE  FALLS  IN 

JANET  MARTIN  thought  it  must  have  been 
all  of  five  minutes  that  she  stood  staring 
at  the  ragged  man  and  he  at  her,  though, 
very  likely,  it  was  only  a  few  seconds.  A 
little  while  seems  very  long  sometimes;  for 
instance,  waiting  for  a  train,  or  for  the 
day  of  the  party  to  come. 

"Are  you  looking  for  anything  ?"  the  man 
asked  of  Janet  after  a  while. 

"He  doesn't  speak  like  a  tramp, "  thought 
the  little  girl,  who  had  occasionally  heard 
them  asking  Nora,  at  the  back  door  at  home, 
for  something  to  eat.  "I  guess  I'll  answer 
him.'1 

So  she  replied : 

"I'm  looking  for  flowers." 

"Well,  there  are  some  pretty  ones  here 
in  the  woods, ' '  went  on  the  ragged  man.  ' i  I 
saw  some  fine  red  ones  a  little  while  ago.  If 

91 


92 


I  had  known  I  should  meet  you  I  would  have 
picked  them  for  you." 

"I  wonder  if  he  can  be  a  tramp,"  thought 
Janet.  "Do  tramps  pick  flowers,  or  want 
to  pick  them?" 

What  she  said  was : 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  think  I  have  enough 


now. ' 


"Yes,  you  have  a  nice  bouquet,"  went  on 
the  ragged  man,  still  smiling. 

He  was  dressed  like  a  tramp,  that  was 
certain.  But,  somehow  or  other,  Janet  did 
not  feel  as  afraid  as  she  expected  she  would 
be  when  she  thought  of  meeting  a  tramp. 

"Do  you  live  around  here?"  the  man  con- 
tinued. 

"Yes,  we're  camping  in  a  tent,"  Jan  re- 
plied. "My  grandfather  owns  part  of  this 
island  and  we  're  with  him — my  mother  and 
my  brothers.  We  like  it  here. " 

"Yes,  it's  fine,"  said  the  ragged  man,  who 
Janet  thought  must  be  a  tramp,  even  if  he 
did  not  talk  like  most  of  them.  "So  you 
live  in  a  tent  ?  Does  the  professor  stay  here 
all  the  while?" 

"The  professor?"  repeated  Janet,  and 
she  wondered  what  the  long  word  meant. 
She  was  sure  she  had  heard  it  before. 


Trouble  Falls  In  93 

Pretty  soon  she  remembered.  At  school  she 
had  heard  some  of  the  teachers  speak  of 
the  principal  as  " Professor." 

"My  grandpa  isn't  a  professor,"  ex- 
plained Janet  with  a  smile.  "He's  a 
farmer." 

"Well,  some  farmers  are  scientists. 
Maybe  he  is  a  scientist,"  went  on  the  tramp. 
"I  was  wondering  if  some  one  else  was  on 
this  island  looking  for  the  same  thing  I'm 
looking  for.  Can  you  tell  me,  little 
girl ?" 

But  just  then,  from  somewhere  back  in 
the  woods,  a  voice  called.  The  ragged  man 
listened  a  moment,  and  then  he  cried : 

"All  right!    I'm  coming!" 

Janet  saw  him  stoop  and  pick  up  off  the 
ground  a  canvas  bag,  through  the  opening  of 
which  she  saw  stones,  such  as  might  be 
picked  up  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  or  almost 
anywhere  on  the  island. 

"I  hope  I  shall  see  you  again,  little  girl," 
went  on  the  tramp,  as  Janet  called  him  af- 
terward when  telling  the  story.  * i  And  when 
I  do,  I  hope  I'll  have  some  red  flowers  for 
you.  Good-bye!" 

Jianet  was  so  surprised  by  the  quick  way 
in  which  the  man  ran  off  through  the  woods 


with  his  bag  of  stones  that  she  did  not  an- 
swer or  say  good-bye.  She  just  stood  look- 
ing at  the  quivering  bushes  which  closed  up 
behind  him  and  showed  which  way  the  man 
had  gone.  Janet  could  not  see  him  any 
longer. 

A  moment  later  she  heard  the  bushes  be- 
nind  her  crackling,  and,  turning  quickly, 
she  saw  Ted  and  Trouble  coming  toward 
her. 

1  'What's  the  matter?"  called  her  older 
brother.  "Did  you  see  another  bear — I 
mean  a  fox?" 

"No.  But  I  saw  a  tramp  man,"  replied 
Janet.  "Oh,  but  he  was  awful  ragged  I" 

"A  tramp !"  cried  Ted.  "Then  we'd  bet- 
ter get  away  from  here.  We  'd  better  go  and 
tell  grandpa!" 

Janet  thought  the  same  thing,  and,  after 
telling  Ted  all  that  had  happened  and  what 
she  and  the  man  had  said,  the  Curlytops  hur- 
ried back  through  the  woods  to  the  camp. 

"A  ragged  man  on  the  island ;  is  that  it  ?" 
asked  Grandpa  Martin,  when  Jan  told  him 
what  had  happened.  "It  must  be  as  Mr. 
Crittendon  said,  that  there  are  tramps  here. 
Though  what  they  are  doing  I  don't  know. 
There  isn't  anything  to  eat  here,  except  what 


Trouble  Falls  In 95 

we  brought.  And  you  haven't  missed  any- 
thing, have  you,  Nora?  Has  anybody  been 
taking  your  strawberry  shortcake  or  apple 
dumplings  from  the  tent  kitchen  ?" 

"No,  Mr.  Martin,  they  haven't,"  Nora  an- 
swered. 

"Well,  maybe  it  was  a  tramp  and  perhaps 
it  wasn't,"  said  Grandpa  Martin.  "Still  it 
will  be  a  good  thing  to  have  a  look  about  the 
island.  I  don't  want  strange  men  roaming 
where  they  please,  scaring  the  children." 

"Oh,  he  didn't  scare  me,  except  at  first," 
Janet  hastened  to  say.  "He  spoke  real  nice 
to  me,  but  his  clothes  were  old  and  awful 
ragged.  He  wanted  to  know  if  you  were  a 
professor." 

"Well,  I  guess  I'm  professor  enough  to 
drive  away  tramps  that  won't  work,  and  only 
want  to  eat  what  other  people  get,"  returned 
the  farmer.  "I'll  have  a  look  around  this 
island  to-morrow,  and  drive  away  the 
tramps." 

"And  until  then,  don't  you  Curlytops  go 
far  away.  Stay  where  I  can  watch  you," 
went  on  Mrs.  Martin,  shaking  her  finger  at 
them,  half  in  fun,  but  a  great  deal  in  ear- 
nest. 

"We'll  stay  near  the  tent,"  promised  Jan. 


96          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"I'm  going  to  help  grandpa  hunt  the 
tramps/'  declared  Ted. 

"No,  Curlytop,  you'd  better  stay  with 
your  sister  and  mother,"  said  the  farmer. 
"I  don't  really  believe  there  are  any  tramps 
here." 

"But  I  saw  him!"  insisted  Janet. 

"I  know  you  saw  some  one,  Curly  Girl," 
and  grandpa  smiled  at  her.  "Of  course 
there  may  be  a  strange  man — maybe  two,  for 
you  say  you  heard  one  call  to  the  other.  But 
they  may  have  just  stopped  for  a  little  while 
on  this  island.  I'll  have  to  ask  them  to  go 
away,  though,  for  we  want  to  be  by  our- 
selves while  camping.  So,  as  there  might  be 
strangers  around  here  who  would  not  be 
pleasant,  you'd  better  stay  here,  too, 
Teddy." 

"All  right,  I'll  stay,"  Teddy  promised, 
and  he  tried  to  be  happy  and  contented 
about  it,  though  he  did  want  to  go  with  his 
grandfather  on  the  "tramp-hunt"  as  he 
called  it.  But,  though  Teddy  was  quite  a 
good-sized  boy  for  his  age,  there  were  some 
things  that  it  was  not  wise  for  him  to  do. 
This  was  one  of  them. 

The  next  day  Grandpa  Martin,  rowing 
over  to  the  mainland,  brought  back  with  him 


Trouble  Falls  In 97 

one  of  his  hired  men.  The  two  walked  all 
over  the  island,  only  stopping  for  their 
lunch,  and  at  night  they  had  found  no  trace 
of  anyone. 

"If  tramps  were  here  they  have  gone," 
said  Grandpa  Martin.  "I  can't  think  why 
that  man  who  talked  to  Janet  should  speak 
of  a  professor,  though." 

' '  It  is  queer, ' '  said  Mrs.  Martin.  ' '  Never 
mind,  I'm  glad  it  is  safe  for  the  children  to 
run  about  now.  It  has  been  hard  work  to 
keep  them  about  the  tents  all  this  day." 

"I  guess  it  has  been,"  laughed  Grandpa 
Martin.  "Well,  to-morrow  they  can  run  as 
much  as  they  like." 

Ted  and  Janet  had  lots  of  fun, 'playing  on 
the  shores  of  Clover  Lake.  They  took  off 
their  shoes  and  stockings,  and  went  wading. 
Trouble  did  the  same,  splashing  about  in  his 
bare  feet  until  he  saw  a  little  crawfish,  dart- 
ing from  one  stone  to  another  under  water 
to  hide  away. 

"Trouble  'f raid  of  dem  big  water-bugs," 
he  said,  as  he  ran  out  on  the  grassy  bank. 
"Don't  want  to  wade  any  more,"  and  Ted 
and  Jan  could  not  get  him  to  come  in  again 
that  day. 

By  this  time  the  camp  was  well  settled. 


98          The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

They  had  stored  away  in  the  cooking  tent 
many  good  things  to  eat,  and  whenever  they 
wanted  anything  more  Grandpa  Martin 
would  row  over  to  the  store  on  the  mainland 
for  it. 

Daddy  Martin  wrote  from  Cresco,  where 
he  was  looking  after  his  store,  that  he  would 
soon  be  back  at  Cherry  Farm,  and  then  he 
would  come  out  to  the  camp  and  spend  a 
week. 

The  Curlytops  played  all  the  games  they 
knew.  They  took  long  rides  with  Nicknack, 
and  often  Trouble  went  with  them.  But  it 
was  not  all  play.  Mrs.  Martin  thought  it 
wise  for  Ted  and  Jan  to  have  some  work  to 
do ;  so,  each  day,  she  gave  them  little  tasks. 
They  had  to  bring  a  small  pail  of  water  from 
the  spring,  gather  wood  for  the  evening 
campfire,  and  also  some  for  Nora  to  use  when 
she  made  the  fire  in  the  cook-stove.  For 
Nora  was  a  good  cook,  and  many  a  fine  pie 
or  cake  came  out  of  the  oven.  Sometimes 
Ted  and  Jan  helped  around  the  kitchen  by 
drying  the  dishes  or  helping  set  the  table 
or  clear  it  off. 

One  afternoon,  when  it  was  almost  time 
to  get  supper,  Mrs.  Martin  sent  Ted  to  the 
spring  for  a  pail  of  water.  She  wanted  one 


Trouble  Falls  In  99 

so  they  could  all  have  a  fresh  drink,  as  it 
was  rather  warm  that  day. 

"I'll  go  with  you,"  offered  Janet. 

"Me  come  too,"  added  Trouble. 

"Yes,  take  him,"  said  his  mother  to  Janet. 
"He  hasn't  been  out  much  to-day."  So 
Trouble  toddled  off  with  his  brother  and  sis- 
ter. 

Ted  filled  the  pail  at  the  bubbling  spring, 
which  was  a  large  one,  out  of  sight  of  the 
tents  of  the  camp.  Then  he  heard  a  strange 
bird  whistling  in  a  tree  overhead,  and,  set- 
ting down  the  pail,  he  ran  to  see  what  it 
was. 

"Oh,  Jan,"  called  her  brother  a  moment 
later,  "it's  a  big  red  and  black  bird.  Awful 
pretty!  Come  and  see  him!" 

Jan  ran  to  get  a  look  at  the  scarlet  tana- 
ger,  as  grandpa  said  later  it  was,  and,  with- 
out thinking,  she  left  Trouble  alone. 

Well,  you  can  well  imagine  what  Trouble 
did! 

For  a  long  while — ever  since  he  had  been 
in  camp,  in  fact — Baby  William  had  wanted 
to  dip  a  pail  of  water  out  of  the  spring.  But 
of  course  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  do  this, 
for  he  might  fall  in.  Now,  however,  he  saw 
his  chance. 


100        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

" Trouble  bring  de  water,"  he  said,  talking 
to  himself  while  Teddy  and  Janet  were  look- 
ing at  the  pretty  bird. 

The  little  fellow  carefully  emptied  the  pail 
his  brother  had  filled.  Then  with  it  in  his 
hand  he  went  slowly  toward  the  spring.  He 
leaned  over,  but  longer  arms  than  his  were 
needed  to  reach  the  pail  down  into  the  bub- 
bling water. 

Trouble  reached  and  stretched  and 
reached  again,  and  then 

"Splash!" 

Baby  William  had  fallen  in! 


CHAPTER  IX 

TED  FINDS  A  CAVE 

JANET  and  Ted  returned  from  looking  at 
the  pretty  scarlet  bird  just  in  time  to  see 
what  happened  to  Trouble.  They  saw  him 
fall  into  the  spring. 

"Oh!"  cried  Janet,  clasping  her  hands. 
"Oh,  look!" 

"He'll  be  drowned!"  yelled  Ted,  and  then 
he  ran  as  fast  as  he  could  toward  the  place 
where  he  had  last  seen  his  little  brother,  for 
Baby  William  was  not  in  sight  now.  He 
was  down  in  the  water. 

Perhaps  Trouble  might  not  have  come  to 
any  harm,  more  than  to  get  wet  through  by 
the  time  Ted  reached  him.  Perhaps  the  lit- 
tle fellow  might  not  have  been  drowned.  At 
any  rate,  no  harm  came  to  him,  even  though 
Jan  and  her  brother  did  not  get  there  in 
time  to  help. 

The  two  Curlytops,  their  fuzzy  hair  flut- 
101 


102        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

tering  in  the  wind,  were  half  way  to  the 
spring  when  they  saw  coming  from  the 
bushes  a  ragged  man. 

"There  he  is!"  cried  Janet. 

"Who?"  asked  Ted. 

"The  man  who — talked  to  me — while  I 
was  picking  flowers,"  and  Jan's  voice  came 
in  gasps,  for  she  was  getting  out  of  breath 
from  having  run  so  hard.  "There  he  is!" 
and  she  pointed. 

"That's  the  tramp!"  cried  Ted.  "They 
are  on  the  island,  only  grandpa  couldn  't  find 
'em!" 

"Do  you — do  you  s'pose  he's  goin'  to  take 
Trouble?"  faltered  Janet. 

Before  Ted  could  answer,  the  Curlytops 
saw  what  the  ragged  man  was  going  to  do. 
They  saw  him  stoop  over  the  spring,  reach 
down  into  it  and  lift  something  up.  The 
"something"  was  Baby  William,  screaming 
and  crying  in  fright,  and  dripping  wet. 

The  ragged  man  set  Trouble  down  on  a 
rock  near  the  spring,  and  then,  waving  his 
hand  to  Ted  and  Jan,  he  cried : 

"He's  all  right — swallowed  hardly  any 
water.  Take  him  home  as  soon  as  you  can, 
though.  I  haven't  time  to  stop — have  to  go 
to  see  the  professor!" 


Ted  Finds  a  Cave 103 

With  that  the  man  seemed  to  dive  in  be- 
tween some  high  bushes,  and  the  Curlytops 
could  not  see  him  any  more.  But  Trouble 
was  still  sitting  on  the  rock,  the  water  from 
his  clothes  making  a  little  puddle  all  around 
him,  and  he  was  crying  hard,  his  tears  run- 
ning down  his  cheeks. 

"Oh,  Trouble!"  gasped  Jan,  putting  her 
arms  around  him,  all  wet  as  he  was. 

"Are  you  hurt  ?"  asked  Ted,  looking  care- 
fully at  his  little  brother. 

"I— I— I  fal— failed  in  an'— an'  I's  all— 
all  wetted!"  wailed  Trouble,  his  breath  com- 
ing in  gasps  because  of  his  crying,  which  he 
had  partly  stopped  on  seeing  his  brother  and 
sister.  "I  failed  in  de  spwing,  I  did!" 

"What  made  you?"  asked  Ted,  while  Jan 
tried  to  wring  some  of  the  water  out  of  the 
little  fellow's  waist  and  rompers. 

"I  wanted  to  get  de  pail  full  for  mamma." 

"But  I  filled  the  pail,  Trouble.  You 
oughtn't  to  have  touched  it,"  said  Teddy. 
He  went  to  the  spring  and  looked  down  in 
it.  The  pail  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  little 
pool. 

"It's  a  good  thing  that  tramp  got  him 
out,"  remarked  Janet.  "He  must  be  a  nice 
man,  even  if  his  clothes  are  ragged." 


104        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"I  guess  so,  too,"  agreed  Ted.  "But  he 
said  we  must  take  Trouble  home.  I  guess 
we'd  better." 

"Yes,"  assented  Jan.  "But  he  isn't 
hurt." 

"He  wasn't  in  very  long,"  Ted  said. 
"The  man  got  him  out  awful  quick — quicker 
than  we  could.  You  lead  him  home,  Jan, 
and  I'll  get  the  pail  out  of  the  spring.  It's 
sunk  like  a  ship." 

"How 're  you  going  to  get  it?" 

"With  a  stick,  I  guess.  You  mustn't  lean 
over  the  spring  any  more,  Trouble." 

"No,"  promised  Baby  William. 

But  the  Curlytops  could  not  be  sure  he 
would  keep  his  promise.  He  might  for  a 
time,  while  he  remembered  what  had  hap- 
pened to  him. 

With  a  crooked  stick  Teddy  managed  to 
fish  up  the  pail  after  two  or  three  trials. 
Then,  filling  it  with  water  from  the  spring, 
he  carried  it  back  to  camp,  while  Jan  led 
the  wet  and  dripping  Trouble. 

"Oh,  my  goodness!  What's  happened 
now?"  asked  Nora,  as  she  saw  the  three  chil- 
dren coming  into  camp.  "Did  you  go  in 
swimming  with  all  your  clothes  on,  Trou- 
ble?" 


Ted  Finds  a  Cave 105 

"No.    I  failed  into  de  spwing,  I  did!" 

"And  the  tramp  got  him  out!"  added 
Jan. 

Then  she  and  Teddy,  taking  turns,  told 
what  had  happened.  Mrs.  Martin  scolded 
Trouble  a  little,  to  make  him  more  careful 
the  next  time.  Then  Grandpa  Martin  said : 

"Well,  there  must  be  strangers  on  this 
island  after  all,  though  I  could  not  find 
them.  They  must  be  hiding  somewhere,  and 
I'd  like  to  know  what  for." 

"Maybe  they're  living  in  gypsy  wagons," 
suggested  Jan. 

"Or  in  a  cave,"  added  Ted.  "They  look 
as  if  they  lived  in  a  cave." 

"There  isn't  any  cave  on  the  island,  as 
far  as  I  know,"  his  grandfather  told  Ted. 
"But  I  don't  like  those  strange  men  roam- 
ing about  our  place  here.  They  may  not 
do  any  harm,  but  I  don't  like  it.  I'll  have 
another  look  for  them." 

"So  will  I,"  added  Teddy,  but  he  did  not 
say  this  aloud.  Teddy  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  do  something.  He  was  going  to 
look  for  those  men  himself,  either  in  a  cave 
or  a  gypsy  wagon.  Ted  wanted  to  find  the 
ragged  man — find  all  of  them  if  more  than 
one ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  at  least  two,  for 


106        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

the  one  who  had  pulled  Teddy  out  of  the 
spring  had  spoken  of  another — a  "  profes- 
sor." 

"What's  a  professor?"  asked  Jan. 

"Oh,  it's  a  man  or  a  woman  who  has  stud- 
ied his  lessons  and  teaches  them  to  others," 
answered  her  mother.  "One  who  knows  a 
great  deal  about  something,  such  as  about 
the  stars  or  about  the  world  we  live  in.  Pro- 
fessors find  out  many  things  and  then  tell 
others  —  young  people  generally  —  about 
them." 

"I'm  going  to  be  a  professor,"  said  Teddy. 

"Are  you?"  inquired  his  mother  with  a 
smile.  "I  hope  you  will  get  wise  enough  to 
be  one." 

But  Teddy  did  not  speak  all  that  was  in 
his  mind.  If  a  professor  was  one  who  found 
out  things,  then  the  small  boy  decided  he 
would  be  one  long  enough  to  find  out  about 
the  tramps,  and  perhaps  find  the  cave  where 
they  lived,  and  then  he  could  tell  Jan. 

When  Trouble  had  been  put  into  dry 
clothes  and  sent  to  sleep  by  his  mother's 
singing,  "Ding-dong  bell,  Pussy's  in  the 
well,"  Jan  and  Ted  sat  by  themselves,  talk- 
ing over  what  had  happened  that  day.  Ted 
was  making  a  small  boat  to  sail  on  the  lake, 


Ted  Finds  a  Cave 107 

and  Jan  was  mending  her  doll's  dress,  where 
a  prickly  briar  bush  had  torn  a  little  hole  in 
it. 

Early  the  next  morning  Ted  slipped  away 
from  his  place  at  the  breakfast  table,  and 
motioned  to  Jan  to  join  him  behind  the 
sleeping  tent.  Ted  held  his  finger  over  his 
lips  to  show  his  sister  that  he  wanted  her 
to  keep  very  quiet. 

" What's  the  matter?"  she  whispered, 
when  they  were  safe  by  themselves.  "Did 
you  see  the  tramp-man  ?" 

"No,  but  I'm  going  to  find  him!" 

"You  are?"  cried  Janet,  and  her  eyes 
opened  wide  with  wonder  and  surprise. 

"Don't  tell  anybody,"  went  on  Ted.  "We 
don't  want  Trouble  to  follow  us.  Come  on 
off  this  way,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  path  that 
led  through  the  bushes  back  of  the  tent. 

Trouble  was  busy  just  then,  playing  in 
the  sand  on  the  shore  of  Clover  Lake,  while 
Mrs.  Martin  and  Nora  were  clearing  away 
the  breakfast  things.  Grandpa  Martin  was 
raking  up  around  the  tents,  so  no  one  saw 
the  Curlytops  slip  away. 

"Which  way  are  you  going?"  asked  Jan 
of  her  brother. 

"Over  to  the  spring." 


108        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"What  for?  To  get  more  water? 
Where's  your  pail?" 

"I  don't  have  to  get  water  yet,"  answered 
Ted.  "I'm  going  to  the  spring  to  look  to 
see  if  I  can  tell  which  way  that  tramp  went. 
Don't  you  know  how  Indians  do — look  at 
the  leaves  and  grass  in  the  woods,  and  they 
can  tell  by  the  marks  which  way  anybody 
went?  Mother  read  us  a  story  once  like 
that.' 

"I  don't  like  Indians,"  remarked  Jan 
somewhat  shortly,  half  turning  back. 

"Oh,  there's  no  Indians!"  exclaimed  Ted 
impatiently.  "I  was  only  sayin'  what  they 
did.  Come  on!" 

So  Jan  followed  her  brother,  though  she 
was  a  little  bit  afraid.  However,  she  saw 
nothing  to  frighten  her,  and  it  was  nice  in 
the  woods.  The  wind  was  blowing  through 
the  trees,  the  birds  were  singing  and  it  was 
cool  and  pleasant.  The  Curlytops  soon  came 
to  the  spring  where  Trouble  had  fallen  in. 

"Now  we  must  look  all  around,"  declared 
Teddy. 

"What  for?"  his  sister  demanded  again. 

"To  tell  which  way  the  tramp-man  went. 
Then  we  can  find  his  cave." 

"Maybe  he  lives  in  a  wagon  or  a  tent." 


Ted  Finds  a  Care 109 

"Then  we'll  find  them.  Come  on,  help 
look!" 

"I  don't  know  how,"  confessed  Janet. 

"Well,  look  for  a  place  where  the  bushes 
are  broken  down  and  where  you  see  foot- 
prints in  the  dirt.  That's  the  way  Indians 
tell.  Mother  read  it  out  of  a  book  to  us." 

So  Jan  and  Ted  looked  all  around  the 
spring,  and  at  last  Ter1  found  a  place  where 
it  seemed  as  if  some  OIK  had  run  through  in 
a  hurry,  for  twigs  we'  broken  off  the 
bushes,  and,  by  looking  do\  •»  at  the  ground, 
he  saw  the  marks  of  shoes  in  the  dirt. 

Of  course  Ted  could  not  tell  who  had 
made  them,  but  he  thought  surely  it  must 
have  been  the  tramp  who  had  pulk  1  Trouble 
from  the  spring.  Ted  was  sure  they  were 
not  the  footprints  of  himself  and  his  sister, 
for  their  own  were  much  smaller. 

"Come  on,  Jan!"  cried  Teddy.  "We'll 
find  that  tramp  now  or,  anyway,  the  place 
where  he  hides." 

He  pushed  on  through  the  bushes.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  path  leading  away 
from  the  spring,  which  was  not  the  same 
path  that  Ted  and  Grandpa  Martin  took 
when  they  went  from  the  camp  to  the  water- 
hole  to  fill  the  pail  each  day. 


110        The  Curlytops  on  Star 

On  and  on  went  Ted,  with  Jan  following. 
She  was  so  excited  now  at  the  thought  that 
perhaps  they  might  find  something,  that  she 
was  not  a  bit  frightened. 

"Wait  a  minute!  Wait  for  me,  Teddy  I" 
she  called,  as  her  brother  hurried  on  ahead 
of  her. 

"Come  on,  Jan!"  he  called.  " There 's  a 
good  path  here,  and  I  guess  I  see  something. 
Oh,  look  here!  Oh,  Jan!  Oh!  Oh!"  sud- 
denly cried  Teddy.  Then  his  voice  seemed 
to  fade  away,  as  if  he  had  all  at  once  gone 
down  the  cellar,  and  Jan  could  hear  him  call- 
ing faintly. 

"Oh,  Teddy!  What's  the  matter? 
What's  the  matter?"  she  cried  as  she  ran 
on  through  the  bushes. 

"I  Ve  found  the  cave !"  was  his  answer,  so 
faint  and  far  away  that  Jan  could  hardly 
hear.  "I've  found  the  cave.  I  fell  right 
into  it!  Come  on!" 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  GRAPEVINE  SWING 

WONDERING  what  had  happened  to  her 
brother,  Jan  hurried  on  toward  the  place 
from  which  his  voice  came.  It  sounded  more 
than  ever  as  if  he  were  down  a  cellar. 

"But  there  can't  be  any  cellars  in  these 
woods/*  thought  the  little  girl. 

"Where  are  you,  Teddy  ?"  she  called  after 
a  bit.  "I  can't  see  you! " 

"Here  I  am,  right  behind  you!"  was  the 
answer,  and  Jan,  turning  quickly,  saw  the 
head  of  her  brother  sticking  up  out  of  a  hole 
in  the  ground. 

"Oh!  Oh!"  exclaimed  Ted's  sister. 
"Where's  the  rest  of  you?  Where's  your 
legs  and  your  feet?" 

"Down  in  'the  hole,"  explained  Teddy. 
"I'm  in  the  cave.  I  fell  in.  That's  how  I 
found  it." 

"Is  it  a  real  cave?"  asked  Janet. 
111 


112        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

"It  is.  It  goes  away  back  under  the 
ground,  only  I  didn't  go  in  'cause  it's  so 
dark.  I  'm  going  to  get  a  light  and  see  what 's 
there." 

"I'm  not!"  said  Jan,  very  decidedly. 

"Well,  then  I'll  get  grandpa.  Maybe  this 
is  the  cave  where  the  tramps  live.  Come  and 
look  where  I  am.  You  won't  fall  in." 

"How  did  you  find  it?"  asked  Janet,  as 
she  walked  toward  the  hole,  down  in  which 
Teddy  was  standing.  It  was  a  little  way 
from  the  path  the  two  Curlytops  had  walked 
along  through  the  woods — the  path  leading 
from  the  spring. 

"I  just  fell  in  it,  I  told  you,"  Ted  an- 
swered. "I  was  walking  along,  and,  all  at 
once,  I  slipped  down  through  the  dried 
leaves.  First  I  thought  I  was  going  down 
in  a  big  hole,  but  it  isn't  over  my  head  and  a 
lot  of  leaves  went  down  with  me,  so  I  didn't 
get  jounced  hardly  at  all." 

Jan  went  to  the  edge  and  looked  down  in 
the  hole.  It  seemed  to  be  a  large  one  in  be- 
tween two  big  rocks,  and  Ted  showed  her 
where  the  hole  slanted  downward  and  went 
farther  underground.  It  was  dark  there, 
and  Jan  made  up  her  mind  she  would  never 
go  into  it,  even  if  Ted  did. 


The  Grapevine  Swing  113 

"You'd  better  come  up,"  she  said  at  last. 
"Maybe  mother  wouldn't  like  it.  Besides, 
there  might  be  snakes  down  in  there." 

"Oh!  I  didn't  think  about  them!"  ex- 
claimed Ted,  and  he  tried  to  scramble  up, 
but  it  was  not  so  easy  as  he  had  hoped.  He 
was  a  little  excited,  too,  since  Janet  Had 
spoken  of  snakes.  Teddy  did  not  like  them, 
and  they  might  be  in  among  the  leaves  that 
had  fallen  down  into  the  hole  with  him. 

"Can't  you  get  up  ?"  Jan  asked,  when  her 
brother  had  slipped  back  two  or  three  times. 

"Maybe  I  could  if  you'd  let  me  take  hold 
of  your  hand,"  suggested  Teddy. 

"Then  you'd  pull  me  in,  and  we'd  both  be 
down  there." 

Ted  saw  that  this  was  so.  He  tried  again 
to  get  out,  but  could  not,  for  mixed  with  the 
leaves  were  many  dry,  brown  pine  needles 
from  the  trees  growing  overhead ;  and  if  you 
have  ever  been  in  the  woods  you  know  how 
slippery  pine  needles  are  when  the  ground 
is  covered  with  them.  Teddy  slipped  back 
again  and  a^ain. 

"Oh,  Ted!  can't  you  ever  get  up?"  asked 
Janet,  almost  ready  to  cry. 

"Oh.  Ill  get  out  somehow,"  he  said. 
Then  dangling  down  from  a  tree  behind  his 


114        The  Curly  to  ps  on  Star  Island 

sister,  he  saw  a  long  wild  grapevine,  which 
was  almost  like  a  piece  of  rope. 

"If  I  had  hold  of  that  I  could  pull  myself 
out,"  Teddy  said.  "See  if  you  can  reach  it 
to  me,  Jan." 

After  two  or  three  trials  his  sister  did  tnis. 
Then,  holding  to  a  loose  end  of  the  grape- 
vine while  the  other  end  was  twined  fast 
round  a  tree,  Teddy  pulled  himself  out  of 
the  hole.  Once  on  firm  ground  he  made  the 
loose  end  of  the  grapevine  fast  to  a  stone 
that  lay  near  the  edge  of  the  hole. 

"What  made  you  do  that?""  asked  Janet. 

"So  the  next  time  I  get  down  there  I  can 
pull  myself  out,"  Teddy  answered. 

"Are  you  going  down  there  again?"  Jan 
queried. 

1 '  Course  I  am ! "  declared  Ted.  ' '  I  didn  't 
half  look  in  the  cave.  It's  a  big  place.  I 
could  see  in  only  a  little  way,  'cause  it  was 
so  dark.  I'm  goin'  to  toll  grandpa  and  have 
him  bring  a  lantern." 

Grandpa  Martin  was  surprised  when  Ted 
and  Jan  told  him  what  they  had  found  in 
the  woods. 

"I  didn't  suppose  there  was  a  cave  on  the 
island,"  said  the  farmer.  "I  must  have  a 
look  at  it." 


The  Grapevine  Swing  115 

"And  may  I  come?  And  will  you  take  a 
lantern?"  asked  Teddy  eagerly. 

"Well,  yes,  I  guess  so,"  said  grandpa 
slowly. 

"Oh,  Father,  do  you  think  it  is  safe?" 
asked  Mrs.  Martin. 

"Yes,  I  think  so.  I  won't  go  very  far  in 
with  the  children.  It  may  be  only  the  den 
of  a  fox  or  some  small  animal,  and  not  a  real 


cave. ' 


"I  think  it's  a  big  cave,"  declared  Ted. 
"Come  on,  Grandpa." 

"Me  come !"  cried  Trouble,  as  the  two  Cur- 
lytops  set  off  with  Grandpa  Martin  through 
the  woods,  toward  the  place  where  Teddy 
had  fallen  down  with  the  pile  of  leaves. 
"Me  come!" 

"No,  you  stay  with  me,"  laughed  Mother 
Martin,  catching  him  up  in  her  arms. 
Trouble  did  not  want  to  stay  behind,  not 
having  been  with  his  brother  and  sister  of 
late  as  much  as  he  wished.  "We'll  bake  a 
patty-cake!"  Mrs.  Martin  added,  and  then 
Trouble  laughed,  for  he  liked  to  help  Nora 
bake.  That  is,  he  thought  he  helped.  And 
at  least  he  helped  to  eat  what  Nora  took  out 
of  the  oven. 

"Now  show  me  where  the  cave  is,"  said 


1  ]  (J        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

Grandpa  Martin  to  Ted,  as  they  neared  the 
place.  "But  be  careful  not  to  fall  into  it 
again." 

"Oh,  IVe  got  a  grapevine  rope  so  I  can 
pull  myself  out, ' '  said  Jan 's  brother.  * '  Here 
it  is,  over  this  way." 

Teddy  Martin  was  an  observing  little  fel- 
low. He  could  find  his  way  around  in  the 
woods  very  well,  once  he  had  been  to  a  place, 
and  he  did  not  go  wrong  this  time.  He  led 
his  grandfather  right  to  the  entrance  of  the 
cave. 

And  it  proved  to  be  a  real  cave.  Grandpa 
Martin  found  this  out  when  he  jumped  down 
into  the  place  where  Teddy  had  fallen,  and 
when  the  lantern  had  been  lighted  and 
flashed  into  the  dark  hole. 

"Yes,  it's  a  cave  all  right,"  the  children's 
grandfather  said.  "And  to  think  the  many 
times  I've  been  on  this  island  I  never  found 
it !  Well,  I  '11  go  in  a  little  way. ' ' 

"Can't  I  come?"  asked  Ted,  as  he  saw  his 
grandfather  start  into  the  dark  hole  which 
spread  out  from  the  open  place  into  which 
Ted  had  fallen. 

"I'm  not  coming,"  declared  Janet,  "and 
I  don't  want  to  stay  here  all  alone." 

"You  stay  there  with  your  sister,  Curly- 


The  Grapevine  Swing  117 

top,"  directed  Mr.  Martin.  "If  I  find  out 
it's  all  right  and  is  safe,  I'll  come  back  and 
take  you  both  in  a  little  way." 

Grandpa  Martin  walked  into  the  dark 
hole,  his  lantern  flickering  like  a  firefly  at 
night.  The  Cuiiytops  watched  it  until  they 
could  no  longer  see  the  gleam.  Then  they 
waited  expectantly. 

"Maybe  some  thin '11  grab  grandpa,"  said 
Jan,  after  a  bit. 

"What?"  asked  Ted. 

' '  A  fox— or  somethin ' ! " 

"Pooh,  he  isn't  afraid  of  a  fox  I" 

"Well,  a  bear,  maybe!" 

"There  isn't  any  bears  here,  Janet  Mar- 
tin !  I  'm  not  afraid. ' ' 

Perhaps  Ted  said  this  because,  just  then, 
he  saw  his  grandfather  coming  out  of  the 
cave.  The  farmer  had  not  been  gone  very 
long. 

"Is  it  a  cave?"  called  Ted. 

"A  sure-enough  one  I"  added  his  sister. 

' '  Yes,  it 's  a  sure-enough  cave.  But  there  ?s 
nothing  in  it. ' ' 

"No  wild  animals'?"  Jan  demanded. 

"Not  even  a  mouse,  as  far  as  I  could  see," 
laughed  Mr,  Martin.  "But  some  one  had 
been  in  the  cave  eating  his  lunch." 


118        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

"Maybe  there  was  a  picnic,  Grandpa, " 
suggested  Ted. 

"No,  I  think  only  one  or  two  persons  were 
in  the  big  hole, ' '  said  his  grandfather.  *  *  For 
it  is  a  big  hole,  larger  than  I  thought  it  was. 
I  could  stand  up  straight  once  I  was  inside. " 

"Take  us  in!"  begged  Ted. 

"Yes,  I  think  it  will  be  all  right.  Come 
along,  Jan.  I'll  hold  your  hand,  and  there 
isn't  anything  of  which  to  be  afraid.  Come 
on!" 

So  Janet  and  Teddy  went  into  the  cave. 
By  the  light  of  grandpa's  lantern  they  could 
see  that  it  was  a  large  place,  a  regular  un- 
derground house — a  cave  just  like  those  of 
which  they  had  read  in  fairy  stories. 

"And  was  there  somebody  here,  really?" 
asked  TecT  eagerly. 

"Yes,"  answered  his  grandfather.  "See. 
Here  are  bits  of  bread  scattered  about,  and 
papers  in  which  some  one  brought  his  lunch 
here." 

"Maybe  it  was  the  tramps,"  whispered 
Janet. 

"Maybe,"  agreed  Mr.  Martin.  "I  must 
have  another  look  over  the  island. ' ' 

There  was  not  much  else  in  the  cave  that 
they  could  see  with  the  one  lantern.  Grand- 


The  Grapevine  Swing  119 

pa  Martin  wanted  to  look  about  more,  and 
back  in  the  far  corners,  but  he  did  not  like 
to  take  the  children  along,  and  Jan  held 
tightly  to  his  hand  as  if  she  feared  she  would 
lose  him. 

"I'll  come  here  alone  some  other  time,  and 
see  what  I  can  find,"  thought  Grandpa  Mar- 
tin to  himself,  as  they  came  out. 

"I  don't  like  it  in  there,"  said  Jan,  once 
they  were  again  out  in  the  sunshine.  "I 
don't  like  caves." 

1 '  I  do, "  declared  Ted.  ' '  When  Hal  Ches- 
ter comes  to  visit  me,  as  he  said  he  would,  he 
and  I  will  look  all  through  this  cave." 

"Is  Hal  coming1?"  asked  Jan,  remember- 
ing the  boy,  once  lame  but  now  cured,  who 
had  played  with  them  and  told  them  about 
Princess  Blue  Eyes. 

"Yes,  mother  asked  him  to  come  and 
spend  a  week,  and  he  said  he  would.  We'll 
have  some  fun  in  the  cave." 

"What  do  you  suppose  the  big  hole  can 
be?"  asked  Mrs.  Martin,  when  Grandpa 
Martin  and  the  children  reached  camp  after 
their  visit  to  the  strange  place. 

' i  I  don 't  know, ' '  he  answered.  t  i  It  doesn  't 
seem  to  have  been  dug  with  picks  and  shov- 
els. It's  just  a  natural  cave  I  guess,  and 


120        The  Gurlytop*  on  Star  Island 

some  fishermen  may  have  eaten  their  lunch 
there  one  day  when  it  rained.  But  there  is 
no  one  in  it  now." 

Ted  and  Jan  talked  much  about  the  cave 
the  rest  of  that  day.  They  went  for  a  ride 
in  the  wagon  drawn  by  Nicknack,  taking 
Trouble  with  them.  On  their  way  back  Jan 
said: 

"Oh,  I  wish  I  had  a  swing." 

* '  It  would  be  fun, ' '  agreed  Ted.  *  '  Maybe 
I  can  make  one." 

"  You'll  have  to  get  a  rope, "  said  his  sister. 
"Grandpa  is  going  to  row  over  in  the  boat 
to-morrow.  Ask  him  to  bring  us  one." 

"No,  he  don't  need  to  bring  us  a  rope," 
went  on  her  brother. 

"Why  not?" 

"  'Cause  I  can  get  a  rope  in  the  woods." 

"A  rope  in  the  woods?  Oh,  Teddy  Mar- 
tin, you  can  not!  Ropes  don't  grow  on 
trees." 

"The  kind  I  mean  does,"  answered  Ted 
with  a  laugh.  '  *  Wait  and  I  '11  show  you. ' ' 

When  Nicknack  had  been  put  in  the  new 
stable  which  Grandpa  Martin  had  built  for 
him,  Teddy,  followed  by  Jan  and  Trouble, 
walked  a  little  way  into  the  woods.  Ted  car- 
ried with  him  a  piece  of  old  carpet. 


The  Grapevine  Swing  121 

"What's  that  for?"  his  sister  asked. 

"For  a  swing  board,"  he  answered. 

"But  where's  the  swing  rope  ?" 

1  i  Here ! ' '  cried  Ted  suddenly.  He  pointed 
to  a  long  wild  grapevine,  which  hung  dang- 
ling between  two  trees,  around  which  it  wa;; 
twined.  The  vine  was  a  very  long  one,  and 
as  thick  around  as  the  piece  Teddy  had  used 
to  pull  himself  out  of  the  hole  near  the  cave. 
It  did  seem  like  a  regular  swing. 

"Well — maybe,"  murmured  Jan. 

"Now  we  can  have  some  fun!"  cried  Ted. 
He  folded  the  piece  of  carpet  and  laid  it  over 
the  grapevine.  Then  he  sat  down,  gave  a 
push  on  the  ground  with  his  feet,  and  away 
he  swung  as  nicely  as  though  he  was  in  a 
regular  swing,  made  with  a  rope  from  the 
store. 

"Oh,  how  nice!"  cried  Janet.  "Let  me 
try  it,  Teddy." 

"Wait  till  I  see  if  it's  strong  enough." 

He  swung  back  and  forward  several  more 
times  and  then  let  his  sister  try  it.  She,  too, 
swayed  to  and  fro  in  the  grapevine  swing, 
which  was  in  a  shady  place  in  the  woods. 
Then  Trouble,  who  had  seen  what  was  going 
on,  cried: 

* '  I  want  to  swing,  too !    I  want  to  swing ! ' ' 


122        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

"111  take  you  on  my  lap,"  offered  Janet, 
and  this  she  did. 

"Ill  push  you,"  offered  Teddy,  and  he 
gave  his  sister  and  his  baby  brother  a  long 
push  in  the  grapevine  swing. 

But,  just  as  they  were  going  nicely  and 
Trouble  was  laughing  in  delight,  there  was 
a  sudden  cracking  sound  and  Janet  cried: 

"Oh,  I'm  falling  I  I'm  falling!  The 
swing  is  coming  down!" 

And  that  is  just  what  happened. 


CHAPTER  XI 

TROUBLE   MAKES   A   CAKE 

WITH  a  crackle  and  a  snap  the  grapevine 
swing  sagged  down  on  one  side.  Janet  tried 
to  hold  Trouble  in  her  arms,  but  he  slipped 
from  her  lap,  just  as  she  slipped  off  the 
piece  of  carpet  which  Ted  had  folded  for  the 
seat  of  the  swing.  Then  Janet  toppled  down 
as  the  vine  broke,  and  she  and  her  little 
brother  came  together  in  a  heap  on  the 
ground. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Ted.    "Are  you  hurt?" 

Neither  Jan  nor  Trouble  answered  him  for 
a  moment.  Then  Baby  William  began  to 
cry.  Jan  lay  still  on  the  ground  for  a  second 
or  two,  and  then  she  jumped  up  with  a  laugh. 

"I'm  not  hurt  a  bit!"  she  said.  "I  fell 
right  in  a  pile  of  leaves,  and  it  was  like 
jouncing  up  and  down  in  the  hay." 

"What's  the  matter  with  Trouble  f  "  asked 
Ted. 

1*3 


124        The  Curly  to  ps  on  Star  Island 

Baby  William  kept  on  crying. 

" Never  mind!"  put  in  Jan.  " Sister ?11 
kiss  it  and  make  it  all  better !  Where  is  you 
hurt,  Trouble  dear?" 

The  little  fellow  stopped  crying  and 
looked  up  at  Jan,  his  eyes  filled  with  tears 

"My  posy-tree  is  hurted,"  he  said,  holding 
a  broken  flower  out  to  his  sister.  "Swing 
broked  my  posy-tree  I" 

Trouble  called  any  weed,  flower  or  bunch 
of  grass  he  happened  to  pick  a  "posy-tree." 

"Oh,  I  guess  he  isn't  hurt,"  remarked 
Teddy.  "If  it's  only  a  broken  posy-tree  I'll 
get  you  another,"  he  said  kindly.  "Are  you 
all  right,  Trouble  ?  Can  you  stand  up  i ' ' 
for  he  feared,  after  all,  lest  Baby  William's 
legs  might  have  been  hurt,  since  they  \v< 
doubled  up  under  him. 

Trouble  showed  he  was  all  right  by  getting 
up  and  walking  about.  He  had  stopped  cry- 
ing, and  Ted  and  Jan  could  see  that  he,  too. 
had  fallen  on  a  pile  of  soft  leaves  near  the 
swing,  so  he  was  only  "jiggled  up,"  as  Jan 
called  it. 

One  side  of  the  grapevine  swing  had  torn 
loose  from  the  tree,  and  thus  it  had  come 
down  with  Jan  and  Trouble. 

"I  guess  it  wasn't  strong  enough  for  two, 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake  125 

said  Ted.    ' '  Maybe  I  can  find  another  grape- 


vine.' 


"I'd  like  a  rope  swing  better,"  Janet  said. 
"Then  it  wouldn't  tumble  down." 

"I  guess  that's  so,"  agreed  her  brother. 
"We'll  ask  grandpa  to  get  one." 

Grandpa  Martin  laughed  when  he  heard 
what  had  happened  to  the  grapevine  swing, 
and  promised  to  make  a  real  one  of  rope  for 
the  Curlytops.  This  he  did  a  day  or  so  af- 
terward, so  that  Ted  and  Jan  had  a  fine 
swing  in  their  camp  on  Star  Island,  as  well 
as  one  at  Cherry  Farm.  They  were  two  very 
fortunate  children,  I  think,  to  have  such  a 
grandfather. 

"Where  are  you  going  now.  Grandpa?" 
called  Jan  one  day,  as  she  saw  the  farmer 
getting  the  boat  ready  for  use. 

"I'm  going  over  to  the  mainland  to  get 
some  things  for  our  camp,"  answered  Mr. 
Martin.  "They  came  from  a  big  store  in 
some  boxes  and  crates,  and  they're  at  the 
railroad  station.  I'm  going  over  to  get 
them.  Do  you  Curlytops  want  to  come 
along?"  ; 

"Well,  I  just  guess  we  do !"  cried  Ted. 

"Me  want  to  come!"  begged  Trouble. 

"Not  this  time,  Dear,"  said  his  mother. 


126        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

"You  stay  with  me,  and  we  will  have  some 
fun.  Let  Jan  and  Ted  go." 

Trouble  was  going  to  cry,  but  when  Nora 
gave  him  a  cookie  he  changed  his  mind  and 
ate  the  little  cake  instead,  though  I  think 
one  or  two  tears  splotched  down  on  it  and 
made  it  a  bit  salty.  But  Trouble  did  not 
seem  to  mind. 

Ted  and  Jan  had  lots  of  fun  riding  back 
in  the  boat  to  the  main  shore  with  their 
grandfather.  When  the  boat  was  almost  at 
the  dock  Mr.  Martin  let  the  two  children 
take  hold  of  one  of  the  oars  and  help  him 
row.  Of  course  the  Curlytops  could  not 
pull  very  much,  but  they  did  pretty  well, 
and  it  helped  them  to  know  how  a  boat  is 
made  to  go  through  the  water,  when  it  has 
no  steam  engine  or  gasolene  motor  to  make 
it  glide  along,  or  sails  on  which  the  wind 
can  blow  to  push  it. 

"You  can't  know  too  much  about  boats 
and  the  water,  especially  when  you  are 
camping  on  an  island  in  the  middle  of  a 
lake,"  said  Grandpa  Martin.  "When  you 
get  bigger,  Ted  and  Jan,  you  11  be  able  to 
row  a  boat  all  by  yourselves." 

"Maybe  day  after  to-morrow,"  suggested 
Jan. 

"I  wish  I  could  now,"  said  Ted. 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake  127 

"Oh,  but  you're  too  small!"  his  grand- 
father said. 

The  boat  was  tied  to  the  wharf,  and  then, 
getting  an  expressman  to  go  to  the  depot  for 
the  boxes  and  crates,  Mr.  Martin  took  the 
children  with  him  on  the  wagon. 

"We're  having  lots  of  fun!"  cried  Jan, 
as  the  horse  trotted  along.  "We're  camp- 
ing and  we  had  a  ride  in  a  boat  and  now 
we're  having  a  ride  in  a  wagon." 

"Lots  of  fun!"  agreed  Ted.  "I'm  glad 
we  've  got  grandpa ! ' ' 

"And  grandpa  is  glad  he  has  you  two 
Curlytops  to  go  camping  with  him !"  laughed 
the  farmer,  as  the  expressman  made  his 
horse  go  faster. 

At  the  depot,  while  the  children  were  wait- 
ing to  have  the  boxes  and  crates  of  things 
for  the  camp  loaded  into  the  wagon,  Ted 
saw  Arthur  Weldon,  a  boy  with  whom  he 
sometimes  played. 

"Hello,  Art!  "called  Ted. 

'  '  Hello ! ' '  answered  Arthur.  ' '  I  thought 
you  were  camping  on  Star  Island." 

"We  are,"  answered  Teddy. 

"It  doesn't  look  so!"  laughed  Arthur,  or 
"Art,"  as  most  of  his  boy  friends  called 
him. 


128        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Well,  we  just  came  over  to  get  some 
things.  There's  grandpa  and  the  express- 
man with  them  now,"  went  on  Ted,  as  the 
two  men  came  from  the  freight  house  with 
a  number  of  bundles. 

"I  wish  I  was  camping,"  went  on  the 
other  boy.  "It  isn't  any  fun  around  here." 

"You  can  come  over  to  see  us  sometimes," 
invited  Jan.  "I'll  ask  my  mother  to  let  you, 
and  you  can  play  with  us." 

"He  don't  want  to  play  girls'  games!" 
cried  Ted. 

"Well,  I  guess  I  can  play  boys'  games  as 
well  as  girls'  games!"  exclaimed  Janet,  with 
some  indignation. 

"Oh,  yes,  course  you  can,"  agreed  her 
brother. 

"And  maybe  Art  can  bring  his  sister  to 
the  island  to  see  us,  and  then  we  could  play 
boys'  games  and  girls',  too,"  went  on  Jan. 

"I'll  ask  my  mother,"  promised  Arthur. 

Grandpa  and  the  expressman  soon  had  the 
wagon  loaded,  and  Arthur  rode  back  in  it 
with  the  Curlytops  to  the  wharf  where  the 
boat  was  tied. 

"All  aboard  for  Star  Island!"  cried  Mr, 
Martin,  when  the  things  were  in  the  boat, 
nearly  filling  it,  '  '  All  aboard ! ' ' 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake  129 

"I  wish  I  could  come  now!"  sighed  Ar- 
thur. 

"Well,  we'd  like  to  take  you,"  said  Grand- 
pa Martin,  "but  it  wouldn't  be  a  good  thing 
to  take  you  unless  your  mother  knew  you 
were  coming  with  us,  and  we  haven't  time  to 
go  up  to  ask  her  now.  The  next  time  maybe 
we'll  take  you  back  with  us." 

There  was  a  wistful  look  on  Arthur's  face 
as  he  watched  the  boat  being  rowed  away 
from  the  main  shore  and  toward  the  island. 
Ted  and  Janet  waved  their  hands  to  him, 
and  said  they  would  ask  their  mother  to  in- 
vite him  for  a  visit,  which  they  did  a  few 
weeks  later. 

Once  back  on  the  island  the  things  were 
taken  out  of  the  boat  and  then  began  the 
work  of  taking  them  out  of  the  boxes  and 
crates.  There  was  a  new  oil  stove,  to  warm 
the  tent  on  cool  or  rainy  days,  and  other 
things  for  the  camp,  and  when  all  had  been 
unpacked  there  was  quite  a  pile  of  boards 
and  sticks  left. 

"I  know  what  we  can  do  with  them,"  said 
Teddy  to  Janet,  when  they  had  been  piled 
in  a  heap  not  far  from  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  and  a  little  distance  away  from  the 
tents. 

"What?"  asked  the  little  girl. 


130        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

44  We  can  make  a  raft  like  Robinson  Cru- 
soe did,"  answered  Teddy,  for  his  mother 
had  read  him  a  little  about  the  shipwrecked 
sailor  who,  as  told  in  the  story  book,  lived  so 
long  alone  on  an  island. 

''What's  a  raft?"  asked  Janet. 

"Oh,  it's  something  like  a  boat,  but  it 
hasn't  got  any  sides  to  it — only  a  bottom," 
answered  her  brother.  "You  make  it  out  of 
flat  boards  and  you  have  to  push  it  along 
with  a  pole.  We  can  make  a  raft  out  of  all 
the  boards  and  pieces  of  wood  grandpa  took 
the  things  out  of.  It  11  be  a  lot  of  fun!" 

"Will  mother  let  us?"  asked  Jan. 

"Oh,  I  guess  so,"  answered  Teddy. 

But  he  did  not  go  to  ask  to  find  out.  He 
found  a  hammer  where  grandpa  had  been 
using  it  to  knock  apart  the  crates  and  boxes, 
and,  with  the  help  of  Jan,  Teddy  was  soon 
making  his  raft.  There  were  plenty  of  nails 
which  had  come  out  of  the  boxes  and  crates. 
Some  of  them  were  rather  crooked,  but 
when  Ted  tried  to  hammer  them  straight  he 
pounded  his  fingers. 

"That  hurts,"  he  said.  "I  guess  crooked 
nails  are  as  good  as  straight  ones.  Anyhow 
this  raft  is  going  to  be  crooked." 

And  it  was  very  crooked  and  "wobboly," 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake  131 

as  Janet  called  it,  when  Teddy  had  shoved 
it  into  the  water  and,  taking  off  his  shoes  and 
stockings,  got  on  it. 

"Come  on,  Jan!"  he  cried,  "I'm  going  to 
have  a  ride." 

"No,  it's  too  tippy,"  Janet  answered. 

"Oh,  it  can't  tip  over,"  said  Teddy. 
"That's  what  a  raft  is  for — not  to  tip  over. 
Maybe  you  can  slide  off,  but  it  can't  tip 
over.  Come  on!" 

So  Janet  took  off  her  shoes  and  stockings. 

Now  of  course  she  ought  not  to  have  done 
that,  nor  ought  Teddy  to  have  got  on  the 
raft  without  asking  his  mother  or  his  grand- 
father. But  then  the  Curlytops  were  no  dif- 
ferent from  other  children. 

So  on  the  raft  got  Teddy  and  Janet,  and 
for  a  time  they  had  lots  of  fun  pushing  it 
around  a  shallow  little  cove,  not  far  from 
the  shore  of  Star  Island.  A  clump  of  trees 
hid  them  from  the  sight  of  Mother  Martin 
and  grandpa  at  camp. 

"Let's  go  farther  out,"  suggested  Teddy, 
after  a  bit. 

"I'm  afraid,"  replied  Janet. 

"Aw,  it'll  be  all  right!"  cried  Ted.  "I 
won't  let  it  tip  over!" 

So  Janet  let  him  pole  out  a  little  farther, 


132        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

until  she  saw  that  the  shore  was  far  away, 
and  then  she  cried : 

"I  want  to  go  back!" 

"All  right,"  answered  Ted.  "I  don't 
want  anybody  on  my  raft  who's  a  skeered. 
I'll  go  alone!" 

He  poled  back  to  shore  and  Janet  got  off 
the  raft.  Then  Teddy  shoved  the  wabbly 
mass  of  boards  and  sticks,  fastened  together 
with  crooked  nails,  out  into  the  lake  again. 
He  had  not  gone  very  far  before  something 
happened.  One  end  of  the  raft  tipped  up 
and  the  other  end  dipped  down,  and — off 
slid  Teddy  into  the  water. 

"Oh!  Oh!  "screamed  Janet.  "You'll  be 
drowned!  I'm  going  to  tell  grandpa." 

She  ran  to  the  camp  with  the  news,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  came  hurrying  back. 
By  this  time  Teddy  had  managed  to  get  up 
and  was  standing  in  the  water,  which  was 
not  deep. 

' '  I — 1  'm  all  right, ' '  he  stammered.  ' '  Only 
I— I'm— wet!" 

"I  should  say  you  were!"  exclaimed  his 
mother.  "You  mustn't  go  on  any  more 
rafts." 

Teddy  promised  that  he  would  not,  and 
then,  when  he  had  put  on  dry  clothes,  he  and 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake 133 

Janet  played  other  games  that  were  not  so 
dangerous.  They  had  lots  of  fun  in  the 
camp  on  Star  Island. 

"Come  on,  Jan!"  called  her  brother  one 
morning  after  breakfast.  "Come  on  down 
to  the  lake." 

"What 're  you  goin'  to  do?"  she  asked. 

"I  think  he  had  better  look  for  the  *g'  you 
dropped,"  said  Mrs.  Martin  with  a  laugh. 

" What  'g?'"  asked  Jan. 

"The  one  off  ' going,'  '  was  the  answer. 
"You  must  be  more  careful  of  your  words, 
Janet  dear.  Learn  to  talk  nicely,  and  don't 
drop  your  *g*  letters." 

She  had  been  trying  to  teach  this  to  the 
Curlytops  for  a  long  while,  and  they  were 
almost  cured  of  leaving  off  the  final  "g"  of 
their  words.  But,  once  in  a  while,  just  as 
Jan  did  that  time,  they  forgot. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  asked  Janet, 
slowly  and  carefully  this  time. 

' '  Sail  my  boat, ' '  answered  Ted.  "  I  '11  give 
\  T)ur  doll  a  ride  if  you  want  me  to. " 

"Not  this  one,"  replied  his  sister,  looking 
at  the  one  she  carried.  It  had  on  a  fine  red 
4ress. 

"Why  not  that  doll  f "  Ted  inquired. 

"  'Cause  your  boat  might  tip  over  and 


134        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

spill  my  doll  in  the  lake.  Then  she'd  be 
spoiled  and  so  would  her  dress.  Wait.  I'll 
get  my  rubber  doll.  Water  won 't  hurt  her. ' ' 

"My  boat  won't  tip  over,"  Ted  declared. 
" It's  a  good  one." 

But  even  Jan's  rubber  doll  must  have  been 
too  heavy  for  Ted's  small  boat,  for,  half  way 
across  a  little  shallow  cove  in  the  lake,  where 
the  Curlytops  waded  and  Ted  sailed  his 
ships,  the  boat  tipped  to  one  side,  and  the 
doll  was  thrown  into  the  water. 

" There!     I  told  you  so!"  cried  Janet. 

"Well,  she's  rubber,  and  you  can  pretend 
she  has  on  a  bathing  suit  an*  has  gone  in 
swimming!"  declared  Ted. 

"But  maybe  a  fish '11  bite  a  hole  in  her  and 
then  she  can't  whistle  through  the  hole  in 
her  back!"  wailed  Jan,  ready  to  cry. 

"There's  no  fish  here,  only  baby  ones ;  and 
they  can't  bite,"  Ted  answered.  "But  I'll 
get  her  for  you,  Jan." 

He  waded  out,  set  his  ship  upright  again, 
and  brought  his  sister's  doll  to  shore. 
Nancy — which  was  the  doll's  name — did  not 
seem  to  have  been  hurt  by  falling  into  the 
lake.  Her  painted  smile  was  the  same  as 
ever. 

"I  guess  I'll  dress  her  now  so  she  won't 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake  135 

get  cold  after  her  bath, "  said  Jan,  who  some- 
times acted  as  though  her  dolls  were  really 
alive.  She  liked  her  playthings  very  much 
indeed. 

While  his  sister  went  back  to  the  tent  with 
her  doll  Ted  sailed  his  boat.  Then  Trouble 
came  down  to  the  edge  of  the  little  cove,  and 
began  to  take  off  his  shoes  and  stockings  to 
go  wading  as  Ted  was  doing.  Ted  was  not 
sure  whether  or  not  his  mother  wanted  Baby 
William  to  do  this,  so  he  decided  to  run  up 
to  the  camp  to  ask. 

" Don't  go  in  the  water  until  I  come  back, 
Trouble,"  Ted  ordered  his  little  brother. 

But  the  sight  of  the  cool,  sparkling  water 
was  too  much  for  Baby  William. 

Off  came  his  shoes  and  stockings  without 
waiting  for  Ted  to  come  back  to  say  whether 
or  not  Mother  Martin  would  let  him  go 
splashing  in  the  water.  Into  the  lake  Baby 
William  went.  And  he  was  not  careful  about 
getting  wet,  either,  so  that  when  Ted  came 
back  with  his  mother,  who  wanted  to  make 
sure  that  her  baby  boy  was  all  right,  they 
saw  him  out  in  the  middle  of  the  cove  with 
Ted's  boat.  And  the  water  was  half  way  up 
to  Trouble's  waist,  the  lower  part  of  his 
bloomers  being  soaked. 


136        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Oh,  you  dear  bunch  of  Trouble!"  cried 
his  mother.  "You  mustn't  do  that!" 

"Havin'  fun!"  was  all  Trouble  said. 

"Come  here!"  cried  Mrs.  Martin. 

"Wait  till  I  sail  boat,"  and  he  pushed 
Ted's  toy  about  in  the  cove,  splashing  more 
water  on  himself. 

"I  guess  you'll  have  to  get  him,"  said 
Mrs.  Martin  to  Teddy,  who  half  dragged, 
half  led  his  little  brother  to  shore.  Trouble 
got  wetter  than  ever  during  this,  and  his 
mother  had  to  take  him  back  to  the  tent  to 
put  dry  things  on  him. 

"Trouble,"  she  said,  "you  are  a  bad  little 
boy.  I'll  have  to  keep  you  in  camp  the  rest 
of  the  day  now.  After  this  you  must  not  go 
in  wading  until  I  say  you  may.  If  you  had 
had  your  bathing  suit  on  it  would  hdve  been 
all  right.  Now  you  must  be  punished." 

Trouble  cried  and  struggled,  but  it  was  of 
no  use.  When  Mother  Martin  said  a  thing 
must  be  done  it  was  done,  and  Trouble  could 
not  play  in  the  water  again  that  day. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  how- 
ever, as  he  had  been  pretty  good  playing 
around  the  tent,  he  was  allowed  to  roam  far- 
ther off,  though  told  he  must  not  go  near  the 
water. 


Trouble  Makes  a  Cake  137 

"You  stay  with  me,  Baby/'  called  Nora. 
"I'm  going  to  bake  a  cake  and  I'll  give 
you  some." 

"Trouble  bake  a  cake,  too?"  he  asked. 

"No,  Trouble  isn't  big  enough  to  bake  a 
cake,  but  you  can  watch  me.  I'll  get  out  the 
flour  and  sugar  and  other  things,  and  I'll 
make  a  little  cake  just  for  you." 

On  a  table  in  the  cooking  tent  Nora  set  out 
the  things  she  was  to  use  for  her  baking. 
There  was  the  bag  of  flour,  some  water  in  a 
dish  and  other  things.  Just  as  she  was  about 
to  mix  the  cake  Mrs.  Martin  called  Nora 
away  for  a  moment. 

"Now,  Trouble,  don't  touch  anything  un- 
til I  come  back!"  warned  the  girl,  as  she 
hurried  out  of  the  tent.  "I  won't  be  gone 
a  minute." 

But  she  was  gone  longer  than  that.  Left 
alone  in  the  tent,  with  many  things  on  the 
table  in  front  of  him,  Trouble  looked  at 
them.  He  knew  he  could  have  lots  of  fun 
with  some  of  the  pans,  cups,  the  egg  beater, 
the  flour,  the  water  and  the  eggs.  A  little 
smile  spread  over  his  tanned,  chubby  face. 

"Trouble  bake  a  cake,"  he  said  to  himself. 
"Nora  bake  a  cake — Trouble  bake  a  cake. 
Yes!" 


138        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

First  Baby  William  pulled  toward  him 
the  bag  of  flour.  He  managed  to  do  it  with- 
out upsetting  it,  for  the  bag  was  a  small  one. 
Near  it  was  a  bowl  of  water  with  a  spoon  in 
it.  Trouble  had  seen  his  mother  and  Nora 
bake  cakes,  and  he  must  have  remember rd 
that  they  mixed  the  flour  and  water  together. 
Anyhow  that  was  the  way  to  make  mud  pies 
— by  mixing  sand  and  water. 

Trouble  looked  for  something  to  mix  his 
cake  in.  The  tins  and  dishes  were  so  far 
back  on  the  table  that  he  could  not  get  them 
easily.  He  must  take  something  else. 

Off  his  head  Trouble  pulled  his  white  hat 
— a  new  one  that  grandpa  had  brought  only 
that  day  from  the  village  store. 

"Make  cake  in  dis,"  murmured  Baby  Wil- 
liam to  himself. 

He  pushed  a  chair  up  to  the  table  and 
climbed  upon  it.  From  the  chair  he  got  on 
the  table  and  sat  down.  Then  he  began  to 
make  his  cake  in  his  hat. 


THEN   TROUBLE   BEGAN  TO   MAKE  A  CAKE  IN   HIS   HAT. 
The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island  Page  138 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  CTJRLTTOPS  GO  SWIMMING 

"TROUBLE  make  a  cake — Trouble  make  a 
nice  cake  for  Jan  an*  Ted,"  murmured  Baby 
William  to  himself.  Certainly  he  thought 
he  was  going  to  do  that — make  a  nice  cake — 
but  it  did  not  turn  out  just  that  way. 

Trouble's  hat,  being  of  felt,  held  water 
just  as  a  dish  or  a  basin  would  have  done, 
but  the  little  fellow  had  to  hold  it  very  care- 
fully in  his  lap  between  his  knees  as  he  sat 
on  the  table,  or  he  would  have  squeezed  his 
hat  and  the  water  would  have  spilled  out. 
But  when  Trouble  really  wanted  to  do  any- 
thing he  could  be  very  careful.  And  he 
wanted,  very  much  this  time,  to  make  that 
cake. 

So,  when  he  had  the  water  in  his  hat  he 
began  to  dip  up  some  flour  from  the  bag  with 
a  large  spoon. 

When  the  little  fellow  thought  lie  had 

139 


140        The  Curly  tops  tm  btar  Island 


enough  flour  sifted  into  the  water  in  his  hat 
he  began  to  stir  it,  juut  as  he  had  seen  Nora 
stir  her  cake  batter.  ,Xround  and  around  he 
stirred  it,  and  then  he  found  that  his  cake 
was  much  too  wet.  lie  had  not  enough  flour 
in  it,  just  as,  someti*nes,  when  he  and  Jan 
made  mud  pies,  the^  did  not  have  enough 
sand  or  dirt  in  the  \vater  to  make  the  stuff 
for  the  pies  as  thick  a*  they  wanted  it. 

So  Trouble  stirred  in  more  flour.  And 
then,  just  as  you  can  t*asily  guess,  he  made 
it  too  thick,  and  had  tv  put  in  more  water. 

By  this  time  Troubles  small  hat  was  al- 
most full  of  flour  and  water,  and  some  dough 
began  to  run  over  the  edges,  down  on  his  lit- 
tle bare  legs,  and  also  on  his  rompers  and 
on  the  table  and  even  to  the  floor  of  the 
kitchen  tent. 

Trouble  did  not  like  that.  He  wanted  to 
get  his  cake  mixed  before  Nora  came  back, 
so  she  could  bake  it  in  the  oven  for  him.  For 
he  knew  cakes  must  be  baked  to  make  them 
good  to  eat,  and  he  really  hoped,  knowing 
no  better,  that  his  cake  would  be  good 
enough  to  eat. 

" Trouble  make  a  big  cake,"  he  said,  as 
he  slowly  put  a  little  more  water  into  his 
hat,  and  stirred  the  dough  some  more.  He 


The  Curly  tops  Go  Swimming        141 

splashed  some  of  the  flour  and  water  on  the 
end  of  his  stubby  nose,  and  wiped  it  off  on 
the  back  of  his  hand.  Then,  as  he  kept  on 
stirring,  some  more  of  the  dough  splashed 
on  his  cheeks,  and  he  had  to  wipe  that  off. 
So  that,  by  this  time,  Baby  William  had  on 
his  hands  and  face  at  least  as  much  dough 
as  there  was  in  the  spoon. 

But  finally  the  little  mischief-maker  got 
the  dough  in  his  hat  just  about  thick  enough 
— not  too  much  flour  and  not  too  much  water 
in  it.  When  this  point  was  reached  he  knew 
that  it  was  time  to  get  ready  for  the  baking 
part — putting  the  dough  in' the  pans  so  it 
would  go  into  the  oven. 

Trouble  wanted  to  do  as  much  toward 
making  his  own  cake  as  he  could  without 
asking  Nora  to  help.  So  now  he  thought  he 
could  put  the  dough  in  the  baking  pans  him- 
self. But  they  were  on  the  table  beyond  his 
reach.  He  must  get  up  to  reach  them. 

So  Trouble  got  up.  and  then 

Well,  you  can  just  imagine  what  hap- 
pened. He  forgot  that  he  was  holding  in 
his  lap  the  hat  full  of  dough  and  as  soon  as 
he  stood  up  of  course  that  slipped  from  his 
lap  and  the  table  and  went  splashing  all 
over  the  floor. 


142        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Inland 

"Squee-squish-squash!"  the  hat  full  of 
dough  dropped. 

"  Oh ! "  exclaimed  Trouble.    "  Oh ! " 

His  feet  were  covered  with  the  white  flour 
and  water.  Some  splashed  on  Nora-'s  chair 
near  the  table,  some  splashed  on  the  table 
legs  and  more  spread  over  the  tent  floor  and 
ran  in  little  streams  toward  the  far  edges. 
And,  in  the  midst  of  it,  like  a  little  island 
in  the  middle  of  a  lake  of  dough,  was  Trou- 
ble's  new  hat.  Only  now  you  could  hardly 
tell  which  was  the  hat  and  which  was  the 
dough. 

"Trouble's  cake  all  gone!"  said  the  little 
fellow  sadly,  and  just  as  he  said  that  back 
came  Nora.  She  gave  one  look  inside  her 
nice,  clean  tent-kitchen — at  least  it  had  been 
clean  when  she  left  it — and  then  she  cried : 

"Oh,  Trouble  Martin!  What  have  you 
gone  and  done?" 

"Trouble  make  a  cake  but  it  spill,"  he 
said  slowly,  climbing  down  from  the  table. 

"Spill!  I  should  say  it  did  spill!"  cried 
Nora.  "Oh,  what  a  sight  you  are!  And 
what  will  your  mother  say!" 

"What  is  it  now,  Nora  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Mar- 
tin, who  heard  the  noise  in  the  kitchen. 

"Oh,  it's  Trouble,  as  you  might  guess. 


The  Curlytops  Go  Swimming        143 

He's  tried  to  make  a  cake.  But — such  a 
mess!" 

Mrs.  Martin  looked  in.  She  wanted  to 
laugh  and  cry  at  the  same  time,  but,  as  that 
is  rather  hard  to  do,  she  did  neither.  She 
just  stood  and  looked  at  Trouble.  He  had 
picked  up  his  hat,  which  still  had  a  little  of 
the  paste  in  it,  and  this  was  now  dripping 
down  the  front  of  his  rompers. 

"Well,  it's  clean  dirt,  not  like  the  time 
he  was  stuck  in  the  mud  of  the  brook  at 
home,  that's  one  consolation,"  said  Nora 
at  last.  Nora  had  a  good  habit  of  trying  to 
make  the  best  of  everything. 

"Yes,  it's  clean  dirt  and  it  will  wash  off," 
agreed  Mother  Martin.  "But,  oh,  Trouble! 
You  are  such  a  sight!  And  so  is  Nora's 
kitchen." 

"Oh,  well,  I  don't  mind  cleaning  up," 
said  the  good-natured  maid.  "Come  on, 
Trouble,  I'll  let  your  mother  wash  you  and 
then  I'll  finish  the  cake." 

"Make  a  cake  for  Trouble?"  asked  Baby 
William. 

"Yes,  I  guess  I'll  have  to,  since  you 
couldn't  make  one  for  yourself,"  laughed 
Nora.  "Never  mind,  you'll  be  a  man  when 
you  grow  up  and  you  won't  have  to  mess 


144        The  Curlytops  an  Star  Island 

around  a  kitchen.  Here  you  are!"  and  she 
caught  him  up,  all  doughy  as  he  was,  and 
carried  him  to  the  big  tent  where  his  mother 
soon  had  him  washed  and  in  clean  clothes. 

Then  Nora  cleaned  up  the  kitchen  and 
made  some  real  cakes  and  cookies  which  Ted 
and  Jan,  as  well  as  Trouble,  ate  a  little  later. 
The  Curlytops  laughed  when  told  of  Trou- 
ble's attempt  to  make  a  cake,  and  for  a  long 
time  after  that  whenever  they  were  telling 
any  of  their  friends  about  the  queer  things 
their  baby  brother  did,  they  always  told 
first  about  the  cake  he  made  in  his  hat 
one  day. 

"Oh,  Ted,  I  know  what  let's  do!"  cried 
Janet  one  day,  about  a  week  after  Trouble 
had  played  with  the  flour  and  water. 

"What?"  asked  her  brother.  "Go  fish- 
ing?" 

"No,  I  don't  like  fishing.  Anyhow  we 
went  fishing  once,  and  I  don't  like  to  see  the 
worms  wiggle.  Let's  make  a  little  play  tent 
for  ourselves  in  the  woods." 

"We  haven't  any  cloth." 

"We  can  make  one  of  leaves  and  branches, 
just  like  the  bower  we  made  for  Nicknack 
before  grandpa  put  up  the  little  board  barn 
for  him." 


The  Curly  tops  Go  Swimming        14.5 

"Yes,  we  can  do  that,"  agreed  Ted.  "It'll 
be  fun.  Come  on." 

A  little  later  the  two  Curlytops  were  cut- 
ting down  branches  from  low  trees,  sticking 
the  ends  into  the  soft  ground,  and  tying  the 
leafy  tops  together  with  string.  This  made 
a  sort  of  tent,  and  though  there  were  holes 
in  it,  where  the  leaves  did  not  quite  come  to- 
gether, it  made  a  shady  place. 

Jan  brought  in  her  dolls,  and  Ted  his  sail- 
boat and  other  toys,  and  there  the  two  chil- 
dren played  for  some  little  time.  Trouble 
was  not  with  them. 

"But  he'll  be  along  pretty  soon,"  re- 
marked Janet,  "and  he'll  want  part  of  the 
tent  for  his.  Is  it  big  enough  for  three, 
Teddy?" 

"Well,  we  can  make  Trouble  a  little 
bower  for  himself  right  next  door.  He'll 
want  to  bring  in  a  lot  of  old  stones  and  mud 
pies  anyhow,  and  we  don't  want  them. 
We'll  make  a  little  bower  for  him  when  he 
comes  along." 

So,  waiting  for  their  little  brother  to  hunt 
them  out,  which  he  always  did  sooner  or 
later  if  they  went  off  to  play  without  him, 
Ted  and  Jan  had  fun  in  the  little  leafy  house 
they  had  made  for  themselves. 


146 


They  were  having  a  good  time,  and  were 
wondering  if  Grandpa  Martin  would  ever 
find  the  queer  ragged  man  or  if  they  would 
see  the  strange  blue  light  again,  when  Jan 
suddenly  gave  a  scream. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Ted. 

"Something  tickled  the  back  of  my  neck," 
explained  his  sister.  "Maybe  it's  a  big 
worm,  or  a  caterpillar!  Look,  Ted,  will 
you?" 

Teddy  turned  to  look,  but,  as  he  did  so,  he 
gave  a  «ry  of  surprise. 

"It's  a  goat!  It's  our  goat!  It's  Nick- 
nack  ! ' '  yelled  Teddy.  ' '  He 's  stuck  his  head 
right  through  the  bower  and,  oh,  Jan!  he's 
eating  it!" 

And  so  Nicknack  was.  His  head  was  half- 
way through  the  side  of  the  tree-tent  nearest 
Jan  and  the  goat  was  chewing  some  of  the 
green  leaves.  It  was  Nicknack 's  whiskers 
that  had  tickled  Jan  on  the  back  of  her 
neck. 

"Whoa  there,  Nicknack!"  called  Ted,  as 
the  goat  from  the  outside  pushed  his  way 
farther  into  the  tent.  "Whoa,  there! 
You  11  upset  this  place  in  a  minute !" 

And  so  it  seemed  Nicknack  would  do,  for 
he  was  hungrily  eating  the  leaves  of  the 


The  Curly  tops  Go  Swimming        147 

branches  from  which  Jan  and  Ted  had  made 
their  playhouse. 

"How'd  he  get  loose  ?"  asked  Jan. 

"I  don't  know,"  Ted  answered.  "I  tied 
him  good  and  tight  by  his  rope.  I  wonder 
if " 

Just  then  a  voice  called : 

1  '  Wait  for  me,  Mcknack !    Wait  for  me ! " 

"It's  Trouble!"  cried  Jan  and  Ted  to- 
gether. 

Ted  looked  out  through  the  hole  the  goat 
had  eaten  in  the  side  of  the  bower,  and  saw 
Baby  William  toddling  toward  him. 

"Did  you  let  Nicknack  loose?"  demanded 
Ted. 

"Ess,  I  did,"  answered  Trouble.  "I 
cutted  his  wope  with  a  knife,  I  did.  I  wants 
a  wide.  Wait  for  me,  Mcknack!" 

The  goat  was  in  no  hurry  to  get  away,  for 
he  liked  to  eat  the  green  leaves,  and  Ted, 
coming  out  of  the  bower,  which  was  almost 
ready  to  fall  down  now  that  the  goat  was 
half-way  inside  it,  saw  where  the  rope,  fast 
around  his  pet's  horns,  had  been  cut. 

"You  mustn't  do  that,  Trouble,"  Ted  said 
to  his  little  brother.  "You  mustn't  cut  Nick- 
nack  's  rope.  He  might  run  away  into  the 
lake." 


148        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Trouble  wants  a  wide." 

"Well,  we'll  give  you  a  ride,"  added  Jan. 
"But  did  mother  or  Nora  give  you  the  knife 
to  cut  the  rope?" 

"No.    Trouble  got  knife  off  en  table." 

"Oh,  you  must  never  do  that!"  cried  Jan. 
"You  might  fall  on  the  sharp  knife  and  cut 
yourself.  Trouble  was  bad ! ' ' 

The  little  fellow  had  really  taken  a  knife 
from  the  table,  and  had  sawed  away  with  it 
on  Nicknack's  rope  until  he  had  cut  it 
through.  Then  Nicknack  had  wandered  over 
to  the  green  bower  to  get  something  to  eat, 
and  Trouble,  dropping  the  knife,  had  fol- 
lowed. 

Mrs.  Martin,  to  punish  Baby  William  so 
he  would  remember  not  to  take  knives  again, 
would  not  let  him  have  a  goat  ride,  and  he 
cried  very  hard  when  Ted  and  Jan  went  off 
without  him.  But  even  little  boys  must  learn 
not  to  do  what  is  wrong,  and  Trouble  was  no 
different  from  any  others. 

One  afternoon,  when  the  Curlytops  had 
been  wandering  around  the  woods  of  the 
island,  looking  to  see  if  any  berries  were  yet 
ripe,  they  came  back  to  camp  rather  tired 
and  warm. 

*  *  I  know  what  would  be  nice  for  you,  '  '  said 


The  Curly  tops  Go  Swimming        149 

Nora,  who  came  to  the  flap  doorway  of  the 
kitchen  tent.  "Yes,  I  know  two  things  that 
would  be  nice  for  you." 

"  What  1"  asked  Jan,  fanning  herself  with 
her  sunbonnet. 

"I  hope  it's  something  good  to  eat,"  sighed 
Teddy,  as  he  sat  down  in  the  shade. 

"Part  of  it,"  answered  Nora.  "How 
would  you  like  some  cool  lemonade — that  is, 
when  you  are  not  so  warm,"  she  added 
quickly,  for  Teddy  had  jumped  up  on  hear- 
ing this,  and  was  about  to  make  a  rush  for 
the  kind  cook.  "You  must  always  rest  a  bit, 
when  you  are  so  warm  from  running,  walk- 
ing or  playing,  before  you  take  a  cold  drink 
of  anything." 

"But  have  you  any  lemonade?"  asked 
Janet,  for  she,  too,  was  tired  and  thirsty. 

"I'll  make  some,  and  you  may  have  it 
when  you  are  not  so  heated,"  went  on  the 
cook.  "And  I'll  get  some  sweet  crackers  for 


ou." 


'  *  That 's  nice, ' '  said  Janet.  ' '  Are  they  the 
two  things  you  were  going  to  tell  us  to  do, 
Nora?" 

"No,  I'll  count  the  lemonade  and  crack- 
ers as  one,"  went  on  the  cook  with  a  smile. 
"The  other  thing  I  was  going  to  tell  you  to 


150        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

do  is  to  take  Nicknack  and  have  a  ride.  That 
will  cool  you  off  if  you  go  in  the  shade/' 

4 'Oh,  so  it  will!"  cried  Ted.  "Well  do 
it!  And  can  we  take  the  lemonade  in  a 
bottle,  and  the  crackers  in  a  bag,  and  put 
them  in  the  goat- wagon?" 

"Do  you  mean  to  give  the  crackers  and 
lemonade  a  ride,  too?"  asked  Mother  Mar- 
tin, who  came  out  of  her  tent  just  then. 

"No,  but  we  can  take  them  with  us.  and 
have  a  little  picnic  in  the  woods,"  explained 
Teddy.  "We  didn't  find  any  berries,  and 
so  we  didn't  have  any  picnic." 

"All  right,  Nora,  give  them  the  lemonade 
and  crackers  to  take  with  them,"  said  Mrs. 
Martin,  smiling  at  the  Curlytops. 

"I'll  go  and  make  the  cool  drink  now," 
said  the  cook. 

"And  I'll  get  the  crackers,"  said  the  chil- 
dren's mother. 

"And  we'll  go  and  get  Nicknack  and  har- 
ness him  to  the  cart,"  added  Ted. 

He  and  Janet  were  soon  on  their  way  to 
the  little  leafy  bower  where  the  goat  was 
kept,  for  it  was  so  warm  on  Star  Island  that 
the  goat  did  not  stay  more  than  half  the 
time  in  the  stable  Grandpa  Martin  had  made 
for  him. 


The  Curly  tops  Go  Swimming        151 

"Here,  Mcknack!  where  are  you?"  called 
Teddy,  as  he  neared  the  bower. 

"Here,  Mcknack!"  called  Janet. 

But  the  goat  did  not  answer.  Nearly  al- 
ways, when  he  was  called  to  in  that  way,  he 
did,  giving  a  loud  "Baa-a-a-a-a!"  that  could 
be  heard  a  long  way. 

"Oh,  Mcknack  isn't  here!"  cried  Jan, 
when  she  saw  the  empty  place.  '  '  Maybe  he 's 
run  away,  Ted." 

"He  must  be  on  the  island  somewhere," 
said  the  little  boy.  "He  can't  row  a  boat 
and  get  off,  and  he  doesn't  like  to  swim,  I 
guess,  though  he  did  fall  into  the  water 
once." 

"But  where  is  he?"  asked  Janet. 

"We '11  look,  "Teddy  said. 

So  the  children  peered  about  in  the  bushes, 
but  not  a  sign  of  Mcknack  could  they  see. 
They  called  and  called,  but  the  goat  did  not 
bleat  back  to  them. 

"Oh,  where  can. he  be?"  asked  Janet,  and 
her  eyes  filled  with  tears,  for  she  loved  the 
pet  animal  very  much. 

"We'll  look,"  said  Teddy.  "And  if  we 
can't  find  him  we'll  ask  grandpa  to  help  us 
look." 

They  wandered  about,  but  not  going  too 


152        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

far  from  the  leafy  bower,  and,  all  at  once, 
Ted  cried : 

"Hark!  I  hear  him  I" 

"So  do  I!"  added  Janet.  "Oh,  where  is 
he?" 

"Listen!"  returned  her  brother. 

They  both  listened,  hardly  breathing,  so 
as  to  make  as  little  noise  as  possible.  Once 
more  they  heard  the  cry  of  the  goat : 

"Baa-a-a-a-a-a!"  went  Nicknack.  "Baa- 
a-a-a!" 

"He's  over  this  way!"  cried  Teddy,  and 
he  started  to  run  to  the  left. 

"No,  I  think  he's  here,"  and  Janet  pointed 
to  the  right. 

"What's  the  matter,  Curlytops?"  asked 
Mrs.  Martin,  who  came  out  just  then  to  see 
what  was  keeping  the  children. 

"We  can  hear  Nicknack,  but  we  can't  see 
him,"  answered  Ted. 

Mrs.  Martin  listened  to  the  goat's  call. 

"I  think  he's  down  this  path,"  she  said, 
and  she  took  one  midway  between  those  Ted 
and  Janet  would  have  taken.  "Come 
along!"  she  called  back  to  the  two  children. 
"We'll  soon  find  Nicknack." 

"Here,  Nicknack  I  Here,  Nicknack!" 
called  Ted. 


The  Curlytops  Go  Swimming        153 

"Come  on,  we  want  you  to  give  us  a  ride  I" 
added  Janet. 

But  though  the  goat  answered,  as  he 
nearly  always  did,  his  voice  sounded  afar 
off,  and  he  did  not  come  running  to  see  his 
little  friends. 

"Oh,  I  wonder  if  anything  is  the  matter 
with  him?  "asked  Ted. 

"We'll  soon  see,"  said  Mrs.  Martin. 

Just  then  the  barking  of  a  dog  was  heard. 

"Oh,  I  wonder  if  that's  Skyrocket ?" 
asked  Janet. 

"No,  we  left  our  dog  home,"  said  Mrs. 
Martin.  "That  sounds  like  a  strange  dog, 
and  he  seems  to  be  barking  at  Nicknack. 
Come  on,  children.  We'll  see  what  the  mat- 
ter is!" 

They  hurried  on,  and,  in  a  little  while, 
they  saw  what  had  happened.  Nicknack  was 
caught  in  a  thick  bush  by  the  rope  around 
his  horns.  He  had  pulled  the  rope  loose 
from  his  leafy  bower,  and  it  had  dragged 
along  after  him  as  he  wandered  away.  Then 
the  end  of  the  rope  had  become  tangled  in  a 
thick  bush  and  the  goat  could  not  pull  it 
loose.  He  was  held  as  tightly  as  if  tied. 

In  front  of  him,  but  far  enough  away  so 
the  goat  could  not  butt  him  with  his  horns, 


154        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

which  Nicknack  tried  to  do,  was  a  big,  and 
not  very  nice-looking,  dog.  This  dog  was 
barking  fiercely  at  Nicknack,  and  the  goat 
could  not  make  him  go  away. 

"Oh,  Mother!  don't  let  the  dog  hurt  our 
goat!"  begged  Janet. 

"I'll  drive  him  away,"  cried  Ted.  catch- 
ing up  a  stone. 

"No,  you  had  better  let  me  do  it,"  said 
Mrs.  Martin.  She  picked  up  a  stick  and 
walked  toward  the  dog,  but  he  did  not  wait 
for  her  to  get  very  close.  With  a  last  howl 
and  a  bark  at  Nicknack,  the  dog  ran  away, 
jumped  into  the  lake  and  swam  off  toward 
shore.  Then  the  rope  was  loosed  and  Nick- 
nack,  who  was  badly  frightened,  was  led 
back  by  Ted  and  Jan  and  hitched  to  the 
wagon.  He  then  gave  them  a  fine  ride.  The 
dog  was  a  stray  one,  which  had  swum  over 
from  the  mainland,  Grandpa  Martin  said. 

Ted  and  Janet  took  the  lemonade  and 
crackers  with  them  in  the  goat-wagon  and 
had  a  nice  little  picnic  in  the  woods. 

"What  can  we  do  to-day?"  asked  Janet, 
as  she  and  Teddy  finished  breakfast  in  the 
tent  one  morning,  and,  after  playing  about 
on  the  beach  of  the  lake,  wanted  some  other 
fun. 


The  Curly  tops  Go  Swimming        155 

"Let's  go  swimming!"  cried  Teddy. 

"And  take  Trouble  with  us,"  added  his 
sister. 

In  their  bathing  suits  and  with  Nora  on 
the  bank  to  watch  them,  the  children  were 
soon  splashing  in  the  cool  water.  Ted  could 
swim  a  little  bit,  and  Jan  was  just  learning. 

"Come  on  out  where  it's  a  little  deeper," 
Ted  urged  his  sister.  "It  isn't  up  to  your 
knees  here,  and  you  can't  swim  in  such  shal- 
low water." 

"I'm  afraid  to  go  out,"  she  said. 

"  Afraid  of  what  <?" 

"Big  fish  or  a  crab." 

"Pooh!  those  little  crabs  won't  bite  you, 
and  when  we  splash  around  we  scare  away 
all  the  fish.  They  wouldn't  bite  you  any- 
how." 

"Maybe  a  water  snake  would." 

'  *  No,  it  wouldn  't, ' '  declared  Ted.  ' '  Come 
on  and  see  me  swim." 

So  Jan  waded  out  a  little  way  with  him. 
Ted  was  just  taking  a  few  strokes,  really 
swimming  quite  well  for  so  small  a  boy, 
when,  all  at  once,  he  heard  a  cry  from  his 
sister. 

"Oh,  Ted!  Ted!"  she  called.  "Come  on 
in,  quick.  A  big  fish  is  goin'  to  bite  you  I" 


156        The  Curb/tops  on  Star  Island 

Ted  gave  one  look  over  his  shoulder  and 
saw  something  with  a  pointed  nose,  long 
whiskers  and  two  bright  eyes  swimming 
toward  him. 

"Oh!"  yelled  Ted,  and  he  began  running 
for  shore  as  fast  as  he  could  splash  through 
the  water. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

JAN^S  QUEER  BIDE 

"WHAT'S  the  matter?  What  is  it? "  cried 
Nora  from  the  bank  where  she  was  tossing 
bits  of  wood  into  the  lake  for  Trouble  to 
pretend  they  were  little  boats.  "Have  you 
got  a  cramp,  Teddy  boy  ?" 

"It's  a — a  big  fish — or — something"  he 
panted,  as  he  kept  on  running  and  splashing 
the  water  all  about,  which,  after  all,  did  not 
matter  as  he  was  in  his  bathing  suit. 

"It's  a  shark  after  him!"  cried  Jan,  who, 
by  this  time,  was  safe  on  shore,  stopping  on 
her  way  to  grasp  Trouble  by  the  hand  and 
lead  him  also  to  safety.  "It's  a  shark!" 

She  had  heard  her  mother  read  of  bathers 
in  the  ocean  being  sometimes  frightened  by 
sharks,  or  by  big  fish  that  looked  like  sharks. 

"Oh,  a  shark!  Good  land!  We  mustn't 
bathe  here  any  more!"  cried  Nora. 

By  this  time  Ted  was  in  such  shallow 

157 


158        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

water  that  it  was  not  much  above  his  ankles. 
He  could  see  the  bottom,  and  he  hoped  no 
very  big  fish  could  swim  in  so  little  water. 
So  he  thought  it  would  be  safe  to  stop  and 
look  back. 

"Oh,  it's  coming  some  more!"  cried  Jan, 
from  where  she  stood  on  the  bank  with  Nora 
and  Trouble.  "Look,  Ted!  It 'scorning." 

The  animal,  fish,  or  whatever  it  was,  in- 
deed seemed  to  be  coming  straight  for  the 
shore  near  the  place  where  the  Curlytops 
were  playing.  Ted,  Jan  and  Nora  could  see 
the  sharp  nose  and  the  bright  eyes  more 
plainly  now.  As  for  Trouble,  he  did  not 
know  what  it  was  all  about,  and  he  wanted 
to  go  back  in  the  water  to  wade,  which  was 
as  near  swimming  as  he  ever  came. 

Then  the  strange  creature  turned  and  sud- 
denly made  for  a  small  rock,  which  stood  out 
of  the  water  a  little  way  from  the  sandy 
beach.  It  climbed  out  on  the  rock,  while  the 
children  and  Nora  watched  eagerly,  and  then 
Ted  gave  a  laugh. 

"Why!"  he  exclaimed,  "it's  nothing  but  a 
bigmuskrat!" 

"A  muskrat?"  echoed  Jan. 

"Yes." 

"And  see,  he  has  a  mussel,  or  fresh- water 


Jan's  Queer  Ride  159 

clam,"  said  Nora.  "Look  at  him  crack  the 
shell." 

And  this  is  what  the  muskrat  was  really 
doing.  It  had  been  swimming  in  the  lake — 
for  muskrats  are  good  swimmers — when  it 
had  found  a  fresh- water  mussel,  which  is  like 
a  clam  except  that  it  has  a  longer  shell  that 
is  black  instead  of  white.  Muskrats  like 
mussels,  but  they  cannot  eat  them  in  water. 

They  have  to  bring  them  up  on  shore,  or 
to  a  flat  rock  or  stump  that  sticks  up  out  of 
water,  where  they  can  crack  the  shell  and 
eat  the  mussel  inside. 

"If  I'd  a  known  what  it  was  I  wouldn't 
'a'  been  scared,"  said  Ted,  who  felt  a  little 
ashamed  of  himself  for  hurrying  toward 
shore.  "You  frightened  me  yelling  so, 
Jan." 

"Well,  I  didn't  want  to  see  you  get  bit  by 
a  shark,  Teddy.  First  I  thought  it  was  a 
shark." 

"Well,  sharks  live  in  the  ocean,  where  the 
water  is  salty,"  declared  Ted. 

"Anyhow  maybe  a  muskrat  bites,"  went 
on  Janet. 

1 '  Well,  maybe, ' '  agreed  Ted.  *  '  I  guess  it 's 
a  good  thing  I  didn't  stay  there  when  he 
came  swimming  in,"  for  the  big  rat  passed 


160        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

right  over  the  place  where  Ted  had  been 
about  to  swim.  "I'm  glad  you  yelled, 
Janet. " 

"So'm  I.  I'm  not  going  in  swimming 
here  anymore." 

"Oh,  he  won't  come  back,"  Ted  said. 
"Come  on!" 

But  Janet  would  not  go,  and  as  it  was  no 
fun  for  Ted  to  splash  in  the  water  all  alone 
he  stayed  near  shore  and  went  wading  with 
Trouble  and  his  sister. 

This  was  fun,  and  the  Curlytops  had  a 
good  time,  while  Nora,  now  that  she  knew 
there  was  no  danger  from  sharks,  sat  in  the 
shade  and  mended  holes  in  the  children's 
stockings. 

"I  wish  we  had  a  boat,"  said  Ted  after  a 
while. 

"Why,  we  have,"  answered  Jan. 

1 '  Yes,  I  know,  the  big  rowboat.  But  that 's 
too  heavy  for  me  and  you — I  mean  you  and 
me,"  and  Ted  quickly  corrected  himself,  for 
he  knew  it  was  polite  always  to  name  oneself 
last.  "But  I  want  a  little  boat  that  we  can 
paddle  around  in." 

Jan  thought  for  a  moment  and  then  cried : 

"Oh,  I  know  the  very  thing!" 

"What?"  asked  Ted  eagerly. 


Jan's  Queer  Ride  161 

"One  of  the  boxes  grandpa  brought  the 
things  in  from  the  store.  They're  long,  and 
we  can  make  box-boats  of  them.  There 's  two 
of 'em!" 

"That's  what  we  can!"  cried  Teddy,  as  he 
thought  of  the  boxes  his  sister  meant. 
Groceries  from  the  store  had  been  sent  to  the 
camp  in  them.  The  boxes  were  strong,  and 
long ;  big  enough  for  Jan  or  Ted  to  sit  down 
in  them  and  reach  over  the  sides  to  paddle, 
not  being  too  high. 

Mother  Martin  said  they  might  take  the 
boxes  and  make  of  them  the  play-boats  they 
wanted,  and,  in  great  delight,  Ted  and  his 
sister  ran  to  get  their  new  playthings. 

Grandpa  Martin  pulled  out  all  the  nails 
that  might  scratch  the  children,  and  he  also 
fastened  strips  of  wood  over  the  largest 
cracks  in  the  boxes. 

"That  will  keep  out  some  of  the  water,  but 
not  all,"  he  said.  "Your  box-boats  won't 
float  very  long.  They'll  sink  as  soon  as 
enough  water  runs  in  through  the  other 
cracks." 

"Oh.  well,  we'll  paddle  in  them  in  shallow 
water, ' '  promised  Ted.  ' '  And  sinking  won 't 
hurt,  'cause  we've  got  on  our  bathing  suits. 
Come  on,  Jan  I" 


162 


Trouble  wanted  to  sail  in  the  new  boats, 
also,  but  they  were  not  large  enough  for 
two.  Besides  Mrs.  Martin  did  not  want  the 
baby  to  be  in  the  water  too  much.  So  she 
carried  him  away,  Trouble  crying  and 
screaming  to  be  allowed  to  stay,  while  Jan 
and  Ted  got  ready  for  their  first  trip.  They 
pretended  the  boats  were  ocean  steamers  and 
that  the  cove  in  the  lake,  near  grandpa's 
camp,  was  the  big  ocean. 

They  had  pieces  of  wood  which  their 
grandfather  had  whittled  out  for  them  to 
use  as  paddles,  and,  as  Ted  said,  they  could 
sit  down  in  the  bottoms  of  the  box-boats  and 
never  mind  how  much  water  came  in,  for 
they  still  had  on  their  bathing  suits. 

"  All  aboard  I"  called  Teddy,  as  he  got  into 
his  boat. 

"I'm  coming/7  answered  Janet,  pushing 
off  from  shore. 

"Oh,  I  can  really  paddle!"  cried  Ted  in 
delight,  as  he  found  that  his  box  floated  with 
him  in  it  and  he  could  send  it  along  by  using 
the  board  for  a  paddle,  as  one  does  in  a 
canoe.  *  *  Isn  't  this  great,  Janet  ? '  * 

"Oh,  it's  lots  of  fun!" 

"I'm  glad  you  thought  of  it.  I  never 
would, "  went  on  Ted.  He  was  a  good  broth- 


Jan's  Queer  Ride  163 

er,  for,  whenever  his  sister  did  anything  un- 
usual like  this  he  always  gave  her  credit 
for  it. 

Around  and  around  in  the  little  cove  pad- 
dled the  Curlytops,  having  fun  in  their  box- 
boats. 

"I'm  going  to  let  the  wind  blow  me/'  said 
Jan,  after  a  bit.  "  I  'm  tired  of  paddling. ' ' 

" There  isn't  any  wind,"  Ted  remarked. 

"Well,  what  makes  me  go  along,  then?" 
asked  his  sister.  "Look,  I'm  moving  and 
I'm  not  paddling  at  all!" 

She  surely  was.  In  her  boat  she  was  sail- 
ing right  across  the  little  cove,  and,  as  Ted 
had  said,  there  was  not  enough  wind  to  blow 
a  feather,  to  say  nothing  of  a  heavy  box  with 
a  little  girl  in  it. 

"Isn't  it  queer!"  exclaimed  Janet. 
"What  makes  me  go  this  way,  Ted?  You 
aren't  sailing." 

Ted's  boat  was  not  moving  now,  for  he  had 
stopped  paddling. 

Still  Jan's  craft  moved  on  slowly  buf 
surely  through  the  water.  Then  Ted  saw  f> 
funny  thing  and  gave  a  cry  of  surprise. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

DIGGING  FOR  GOLD 

"WHAT'S  the  matter?"  called  Jan.  Her 
boat  was  now  quite  a  little  distance  away 
from  her  brother's.  "Do  you  see  anything, 
Teddy?" 

"I  see  you  are  being  towed,  Janet." 

"Being  what !" 

"Towed — pulled  along,  you  know,  just 
like  the  mules  pull  the  canal  boats." 

Once  the  Curlytops  had  visited  a  cousin 
who  lived  in  the  country  near  a  canal,  and 
they  had  seen  the  mules  and  horses  walk- 
ing along  the  canal  towpath  pulling  the  big 
boats  by  a  long  rope. 

"Who's  towing  me,  Ted?"  asked  Jan,  try- 
ing to  look  over  the  side  of  her  box.  But,  as 
she  did  so  it  tipped  to  one  side  and  she  was 
afraid  it  would  upset,  so  she  quickly  sat 
down  again. 

"I  don't  know  what  it  is,"  her  brother 

164 


Digging  for  Gold  165 

answered.  "But  something  has  hold  of  the 
rope  that's  fast  to  the  front  part  of  your 
box,  and  it's  as  tight  as  anything — the  rope 
is.  Something  in  the  water  is  pulling  you 
along." 

On  each  of  the  box-boats  the  Curl^tops 
had  fastened  a  piece  of  clothesline  their 
mother  had  given  them.  This  line  was  to  tie 
fast  their  boats  to  an  overhanging  tree 
branch,  near  the  shore  of  the  cove,  when  they 
were  done  playing. 

And,  as  Ted  had  said,  the  rope  fast  to  the 
end  of  Jan's  box  was  stretched  out  tightly 
in  front,  the  end  being  down  under  water. 

"Oh,  maybe  it's  the  big  muskrat  that  has 
hold  of  my  rope  and  is  giving  me  a  ride," 
cried  Janet.  "It's  fun!" 

"No,  I  don't  guess  it's  a  rat,"  answered 
Teddy.  "A  muskrat  wouldn't  do  that.  Oh, 
I  see  what  it  is!"  he  cried  suddenly.  "I 
see  it!" 

"What?  "asked  Janet. 

Again  she  got  up  and  tried  to  look  over 
the  side  of  the  box,  but  once  more  it  tipped 
as  though  going  to  turn  over  and  she  sat 
down. 

By  this  time  both  her  box  and  Ted's  was 
half  full  of  water,  and  so  went  only  very 


166 


slowly  along  the  little  cove.  The  weight  of 
the  water  that  had  leaked  in  through  the 
cracks  and  the  weight  of  the  Curlytops  them- 
selves made  the  boxes  float  low  in  the 
lake. 

"Can  you  see  what's  pulling  me ?"  asked 
Janet. 

"Yes,"  answered  Teddy,  "I  can.  It's  a 
great  big  mud  turtle!" 

"A  mud  turtle!"  cried  Janet. 

"I  guess  he's  scared,  too,"  said  her 
brother,  "for  he's  swimmin'  all  around  as 
fast  as  anything !" 

"Where  is  he?"  asked  Janet. 

"Right  in  front  of  your  boat.  I  guess 
your  rope  got  caught  around  one  of  his  legs, 
or  on  his  shell,  and  he  can't  get  it  loose.  He 
must  have  been  swimming  along  and  run 
into  the  rope.  Or  maybe  he's  got  it  in  his 
mouth." 

"If  he  had  he  could  let  go,"  answered 
Janet.  *  *  Oh,  I  see  him ! ' '  she  cried.  She  had 
stood  up  in  her  box  and  was  looking  over  the 
front.  The  box  had  now  sunk  so  low  in  the 
water  that  it  was  on  the  bottom  of  the  little 
cove  and  no  longer  was  the  turtle  towing  it 
along. 

The  turtle,  finding  that  it  could  no  longer 


Digging  for  Gold  167 

swim,  had  come  to  the  top  of  the  water  and 
was  splashing  about,  trying  to  get  loose. 
Jan  could  see  it  plainly  now,  as  Ted  had  seen 
it  before  from  his  boat,  which  was  still  float- 
ing along,  as  not  so  much  water  had  leaked 
in  as  had  seeped  into  his  sister 's. 

"Oh,  isn't  it  a  big  one !"  cried  Jan.  "It's 
a  big  turtle." 

"It  surely  is!"  assented  Ted.  "He  could 
bite  hard  if  he  got  hold  of  you." 

"Is  he  biting  my  rope?"  Janet  asked. 

"No,  it's  round  one  of  his  front  legs,"  re- 
plied Ted.  "There!  he's  got  it  loose!" 

"There  he  goes!"  shrieked  Jan. 

By  this  time  the  mud  turtle,  which  was  a 
very  large  one,  had  struggled  and  squirmed 
about  so  hard  in  the  water  that  he  had 
shaken  loose  the  knot  in  the  end  of  Jan's 
rope.  The  knot  had  been  caught  under  its 
left  front  leg  and  when  the  turtle  swam  or 
crawled  along  on  the  bottom,  the  rope  had 
been  held  tightly  in  place,  and  so  the  box  was 
pulled  along. 

But  when  Jan's  boat  sank  and  went 
aground,  the  turtle  could  not  pull  it  any 
farther,  and  had  to  back  up,  just  as  Nick- 
nack  the  goat  sometimes  backed  up  his  cart. 
This  made  the  rope  slack,  or  loose,  and  then 


168        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

the  creature  could  shake  the  knot  of  the  rope 
out  from  under  its  leg. 

"There  it  goes!"  cried  Ted,  as  the  turtle 
swam  away.  "Oh,  what  a  whopper  1  It's 
bigger  than  the  big  muskratl" 

"Your  muskrat  didn't  give  you  a  ride  Ted, 
and  my  turtle  gave  me  a  fine  one,"  said  Jan. 
"But  I  can't  sail  my  boat  any  more." 

"Well,  we'll  have  to  empty  out  some  of 
the  water.  Then  it  will  float  again  and  you 
can  get  in  it." 

"I'm  not  going  to  let  the  rope  drag  in 
the  water  any  more,"  decided  Janet,  after 
Ted  had  helped  her  tip  her  box  over  so  the 
water  would  run  out.  "I  don't  really  want 
any  more  rides  like  that.  The  next  turtle 
might  go  out  into  the  lake.  I  want  to 
paddle." 

"I  wish  a  big  whale  would  come  along  and 
tow  me, ' '  laughed  Ted.  * 1 1  wouldn  't  let  him 
go  loose." 

"He  might  pull  you  all  across  the  lake," 
Janet  said. 

"I'd  like  that.     Come  on,  we'll  have  a 


race/ 


"All  right,  Ted." 

The  Curlytops  began  paddling  their  box- 
boats  about  the  cove  once  more.    Ted  won 


Digging  for  Gold  169 

the  race,  being  older  and  stronger  than 
Janet,  but  she  did  very  well. 

Then  after  some  more  fun  sailing  about  in 
their  floating  boxes  the  children  were  called 
by  their  mother,  who  said  they  had  been  in 
the  water  long  enough.  Besides  dinner  was 
ready,  and  they  were  hungry  for  the  good 
things  Nora  had  made. 

"And  didn't  you  find  any  of  them, 
Father?"  asked  Mrs.  Martin  as  the  farmer 
pushed  back  his  chair,  when  the  meal  was 


over. 

"XT 


No,  I  didn't  see  a  sign  of  them,  and  I 
looked  all  over  the  cave,  too,  Some  persons 
have  been  sleeping  in  there,  for  I  found  a 
pile  of  old  bags  they  had  used  for  a  bed, 
but  I  didn't  find  anyone." 

"Find  who?"  Ted  inquired. 

"The  tramps,  or  the  ragged  man  you  and 
Jan  saw,"  answered  his  grandfather.  "I 
have  been  looking  about  the  island,  but  I 
could  not  find  any  of  the  ragged  men,  for  I 
think  there  was  more  than  one.  So  I  guess 
they've  gone,  and  we  needn't  think  anything 
more  about  them." 

"Did  you  see  the  blue  light?"  asked  Ted. 

"No,  I  didn't  see  that,  either.  I  guess  it 
wouldn't  show  in  the  daytime.  But  don't 


170        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

worry.  Just  have  all  the  fun  you  can  in 
camp.  We  can't  stay  here  very  much 
longer. " 

"Oh,  do  we  have  to  go  home?"  cried  the 
Curlytops,  sorrowfully. 

"Well,  we  can't  stay  here  much  longer," 
said  Mother  Martin.  * '  In  another  month  the 
weather  will  be  too  cold  for  living  in  a  tent. 
Besides  daddy  will  want  us  back,  and 
grandpa  has  to  gather  in  his  farm  crops  for 
the  winter.  So  have  fun  while  you  can." 

"Isn't  daddy  coming  here  ?"  asked  Jan. 

"Yes,  he'll  be  here  next  week  to  stay  sev- 
eral days  with  us.  Then  he  has  to  go  back 
to  the  store." 

The  Curlytops  had  great  fun  when  Daddy 
Martin  came.  They  showed  him  all  over  the 
island — the  cave,  the  place  where  Nicknack 
nearly  ate  up  the  bower-tent,  the  place  where 
Ted  saw  the  muskrat,  and  they  even  wanted 
him  to  go  riding  in  the  box-boats. 

"Oh,  I'm  afraid  I'm  too  big!"  laughed 
Daddy  Martin.  "Besides,  I'd  be  afraid  if  a 
mud  turtle  pulled  me  along." 

"Oh,  Daddy  Martin!  you  would  not!" 
laughed  Janet. 

And  so  the  happy  days  went  by,  until  Mr. 
Martin  had  to  leave  Star  Island  to  go  back 


Digging  for  Gold  171 

to  his  business.  He  promised  to  pay  another 
visit,  though,  before  the  camp  was  ended. 

Several  times,  before  and  after  Daddy 
Martin's  visit,  Ted  and  Jan  talked  about  the 
queer  ragged  man  they  had  seen,  and  about 
the  blue  light  and  the  cave. 

"I  wonder  if  we'll  ever  find  out  what  it 
all  means,"  said  Jan.  "It's  like  a  story- 
book, isn't  it,  Ted?" 

'  '  A  little,  yes.  But  grandpa  says  not  to  be 
scared  so  I'm  not." 

"I'm  not,  either.  But  what  do  you  s'pose 
that  ragged  man  is  looking  for,  and  who  is 
the  professor?" 

Teddy  did  not  know,  and  said  so.  Then, 
when  he  and  Jan  got  back  to  the  tent,  having 
been  out  with  Trouble  for  a  ride  in  the  goat- 
cart,  they  found  good  news  awaiting  them. 

"Here  is  a  letter  from  Hal  Chester,  the 
little  boy  who  used  to  be  lame,"  said  Mrs. 
Martin,  for  grandpa  had  come  in,  bringing 
the  mail  from  the  mainland  post-office. 

"Oh,  can  he  come  to  pay  us  a  visit?" 
asked  Ted.  His  mother  had  allowed  him  to 
invite  Hal. 

"Yes,  that's  what  he  is  going  to  do,"  went 
on  Mrs.  Martin.  "His  doctor  says  he  is 
much  better,  and  can  walk  with  hardly  a 


172        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

limp  now,  and  the  trip  here  will  do  him  good. 
So  to-morrow  Grandpa  Martin  is  going  to 
bring  him  to  Star  Island." 

"Oh,  goody !"  cried  Ted  and  Jan,  jumping 
up  and  down  and  clapping  their  hands. 
Trouble  did  the  same  thing,  though  he  did 
not  know  exactly  what  for. 

"We'll  have  fun  with  Hal!"  cried  Ted. 
"Maybe  he'll  help  us  find  the  tramp-man. 
Hal's  smart — he  can  make  kites  and  lots  of 
things." 

The  next  day  Hal  Chester  came  to  visit 
the  camp  on  Star  Island. 

"Say,  this  is  a  dandy  place!"  he  ex- 
claimed as  he  looked  about  at  the  tents  and 
at  the  boat  floating  in  the  little  cove.  "I'll 
just  love  it  here!" 

"It's  awful  nice,"  agreed  Jan. 

"And  there's  a  mystery  here,  too,"  added 
Ted, 

"What  do  you  mean?"  Hal  demanded. 
"What's  a  mystery?" 

"Oh,  it's  something  queer,"  went  on  Ted. 
"Something  you  can't  tell  what  it  is.  This 
mystery  is  a  tramp." 

"A  tramp?" 

"Yes.  Jan  saw  him  when  she  was  picking 
flowers,  and  he  pulled  Trouble  out  of  the 


Digging  for  Gold  173 

spring  afterward.  And  there's  a  cave  here 
where  maybe  he  sleeps,  'cause  there's  some 
bags  for  beds  in  it.  He's  looking  for  some- 
thing on  this  island,  that  tramp-man  is,"  de- 
clared Ted. 

"Looking  for  something?"  repeated  Hal, 
quite  puzzled. 

"Yes.  He  goes  all  around,  and  we  saw 
him  picking  up  some  stones.  Didn't  we, 
Jan?" 

"Yes,  we  did." 

"Picking  up  stones,"  repeated  Hal 
slowly.  Then  he  sprang  up  from  where  he 
was  sitting  under  a  tree  with  the  Curlytop 
cmidren. 

"I  know  what  he's  looking  .or!"  Hal 
cried. 

"What?" 

"Gold!"  and  Hal's  voice  changed  to  a 
whisper.  "That  tramp  knows  there's  gold 
on  this  island,  and  he's  trying  to  dig  it  up 
ou  you  won't  know  it.  He's  after  gold — 
that 's  what  he  is f" 

"Oh!"  gasped  Jan,  her  eyes  shining 
brightly. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Ted.  "Can't  we  stop 
him?  This  is  grandpa's  island.  He  mustn't 
take  grandpa's  gold." 


174      The  Curlytops  at  Star  Island 

"There's  only  one  way  to  stop  him,"  said 
Hal  quickly. 

"How?"  demanded  Ted  and  Janet  in  the 
same  breath. 

"We'll  have  to  dig  for  the  gold  ourselves  1 
Come  on,  let's  get  some  shovels  and  we'll 
start  right  away.  It  must  be  up  near  the 
cave.  Come  on!  We'll  dig  for  the  gold  our- 
selves!" 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  BIG  HOLE 

HAL  CHESTER  was  very  much  in  earnest. 
His  eyes  shone  and  he  could  not  keep  still. 
He  fairly  danced  around  Janet  and  Ted. 

"Do  you  really  think  that  tramp-man  was 
looking  for  gold?"  asked  Ted. 

"  'Deed  I  do,"  declared  Hal.  "What  else 
was  he  after?" 

Neither  Ted  nor  Janet  could  answer  that. 

"But  how  will  we  know  where  it  is?" 
asked  Janet.  "We  don't  know  where  there's 
any  gold,  and  mother  won't  want  us  to  go 
near  that  tramp-man." 

"And  I  don't  want  to,  either,"  answered 
Hal.  "But  we  can  dig  down  till  we  find  the 
gold,  can't  we?" 

"If  we  knowed — I  mean  if  we  knew 
where  to  dig,"  agreed  Ted,  after  thinking 
about  it.  "But  digging  for  gold  isn't  like 
digging  for  angle- worms  to  go  fishing.  You 

175 


can  dig  them  anywhere.  But  you've  got  to 
have  a  gold  mine  to  dig  for  gold." 

"Well,  we'll  start  a  mine,"  decided  Hal. 
"That's  what  the  miners  do  out  West.  I 
read  about  it  in  a  book  at  the  Home  when  I 
was  crippled  and  couldn't  walk  much.  The 
miners  just  start  to  dig,  and  if  they  don't 
find  gold  in  one  place  they  dig  in  another. 
That's  what  we'll  do.  We*'ll  dig  till  we  find 
the  gold,  then  well  have  a  gold  mine." 

"Oh,  yes,  let's  do  it!"  cried  Jan.  "I'd 
love  to  have  some  gold  to  make  a  pair  of 
bracelets  for  my  doll." 

"Pooh!"  scoffed  Ted,  "if  we  get  gold  we 
aren't  going  to  waste  it  on  doll's  bracelets  1 
Are  we,  Hal?" 

"Well,  if  Jan  helps  us  dig  she  can  have 
her  share  of  the  gold.  That's  what  miners 
always  do.  They  divide  up  the  gold  and 
each  one  takes  his  share.  Of  course  Jan  can 
do  what  she  likes  with  hers." 

"There,  see,  Mr.  Smarty!"  cried  Jan  to 
her  brother.  "I'll  make  my  gold  into  doll's 
bracelets." 

"Maybe  you  won't  get  any,"  objected 
Ted. 

"Well,  I'll  help  you  dig,  anyhow.  I 
helped  grandpa  dig  trenches  around  the 


The  Big  Hole 177 

tents  so  the  rain  water  would  run  off,  and  I 
can  help  dig  a  gold  mine.  I  know  where  the 
shovels  are." 

"Good!"  cried  Hal. 

"We  don't  want  any  girls  in  this  gold 
mine!"  objected  Ted,  as  his  sister  hurried 
off  to  where  Grandpa  Martin  kept  the  shov- 
els, hoes  and  other  garden  tools  he  used 
about  the  camp. 

Usually  Ted  did  not  mind  what  game  his 
sister  played  with  him,  but  since  Hal  had 
spoken  of  gold  the  little  Curlytop  boy  had 
acted  differently. 

"We  don't  want  girls  in  the  gold  mine," 
repeated  Ted. 

' 1  Course  we  do ! "  laughed  Hal.  "  Jan 's  a 
strong  digger,  and  I  can't  do  very  much,  as 
my  foot  that  used  to  be  lame  isn't  all  wTell 
yet.  It  used  to  be  almost  as  strong  as  the 
other,  but  now  it  isn't.  So  you  and  Jan  will 
have  to  do  most  of  the  digging,  though  I 
can  shovel  away  the  dirt.  Anyhow  they  al- 
ways have  girls  or  women  in  gold  camps,  you 
know." 

"They  do?  "cried  Ted. 

"Of  course!  They  do  the  cooking  where 
there  aren't  any  Chinamen.  Mostly  China- 
men do  the  cooking  in  gold  camps,  but  we 


178        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

haven't  any,  so  we'll  have  to  have  a  girl.  She 
can  be  Jan." 

"There's  a  Chinaman  who  washes  shirts 
and  collars  in  our  town,"  remarked  Ted. 
"Maybe  we  could  get  him  to  cook  for  us." 

"No!  What's  the  use  when  we've  got 
Jan?  Anyhow  it'll  be  only  make-believe 
cooking,  and  I  don't  guess  that  shirt-China- 
man would  want  to  come  here  just  for  that. 
Anyhow  we'd  have  to  pay  him  and  we 
haven't  any  money." 

"We'll  get  some  out  of  the  gold  mine," 
Ted  answered. 

"Well,  maybe  we  won't  find  any  gold  for 
a  week  or  so." 

"Does  it  take  as  long  as  that?" 

"Oh,  yes.  Sometimes  longer.  And  that 
Chinaman  weuld  want  to  be  paid  for  his 
cooking  every  week,  or  every  night  maybe. 
We  won't  hare  to  pay  Jan." 

"That's  so.  Well,  then  I  guess  she  can 
come.  But  we  can  get  my  mother  or  Nora  to 
make  us  sandwiches  and  we  won't  have  to 
cook  much  of  anything." 

"That's  what  I  thought,  Teddy.  But  we 
can  let  Jan  set  the  table  and  things  like  that 
when  she  isn  't  digging.  She  '11  help  a  lot. ' ' 

"Yes,  she's  almost  as  strong  as  I  am," 


The  Big  Hole 179 

agreed  Ted.  " Hurry  up,  Jan!"  he  called. 
"Got  those  shovels  yet?" 

"Yes,  but  I  can't  carry  'em  all.  You  must 
help.  Come  on!" 

Jan  was  walking  back  toward  the  boys, 
dragging  two  heavy  shovels.  Seeing  this, 
Hal  hurried  to  help  her  and  Ted  followed. 
They  got  another  shovel  and  a  hoe  and  with 
these  they  started  off  toward  the  cave,  about 
which  Ted  had  told  Hal. 

"That'll  be  the  place  where  the  gold  is," 
decided  the  visitor.  '  *  The  tramps  must  have 
been  looking  for  it  there.  We'll  start  our 
gold  mine  right  near  the  cave." 

"What  about  something  to  eat?"  asked 
Ted,  pausing  as  they  started  up  the  path 
that  led  to  the  hole  out  of  which  the  cave 
opened. 

"That's  so.  We  ought  to  have  something. 
I'm  getting  hungry  now,"  remarked  Jan, 
though  it  was  not  long  since  they  had  had  a 
meal. 

"So'm  I,"  announced  Ted. 

"Better  not  stop  to  go  back  for  anything 
to  eat  now, ' '  decided  Hal.  t  '  Your  mother  or 
grandma  might  make  us  stay  in  camp.  Did 
you  tell  them  we  were  going  to  dig  for  gold, 
Jan  ?" 


180 


"No.  I  didn't  see  any  of  them  when  I  got 
the  shovels." 

"Well  then,  well  go  on  up  to  the  cave. 
One  of  us  can  come  back  later  and  get  some- 
thing to  eat.  They  call  it  'grub'  in  the 
books." 

"Call  what  grub?"  Ted  asked. 

"Stuff  the  miners  eat.  Well  send  Jan 
back  for  the  grub  after  we  start  the  gold 
mine.  You're  going  to  be  the  cook, "  Hal  in- 
formed Ted's  sister. 

"I  am  not!"  she  cried,  dropping  her 
shovel.  "I'm  going  to  be  a  gold  miner  just 
like  you  two.  If  I  can 't  be  that  I  won 't  play, 
and  I'll  take  my  shovel  right  back!  So 
there  now!" 

"Oh,  you  can  be  a  gold  miner  too,"  Hal 
made  haste  to  say.  "But  we've  got  to  have 
a  cook — they  always  do  in  a  gold  camp." 

"Well,  I'll  be  a  cook  when  I'm  not  dig- 
ging gold, ' '  agreed  Jan.  ' '  But  I  want  to  get 
enough  for  my  doll's  bracelets." 

' ' That 's  all  right, ' '  agreed  Hal.  It  would 
not  do  to  have  Jan  leave  them  right  at  the 
start. 

If  Mrs.  Martin  or  grandpa  saw  the  chil- 
dren starting  out  with  hoe  and  shovels  they 
probably  thought  the  Curlytops  were  only 


The  Big  Hole 181 

going  to  dig  fish  worms,  as  they  often  did. 
Grandpa  Martin  was  very  fond  of  fishing, 
but  he  did  not  like  to  dig  the  bait.  But 
Trouble  was  fretful  that  day,  and  his  mother 
had  to  take  care  of  him,  so  she  did  not  pay 
much  attention  to  Jan  or  Ted,  feeling  sure 
they  would  come  to  no  harm. 

So  on  the  three  children  hurried  toward 
the  hole  into  which  Ted  had  fallen  just  be- 
fore they  found  the  queer  cave. 

"This  is  just  the  place  for  a  gold  mine!" 
cried  Hal  when  he  looked  at  the  ground 
around  the  big  hole.  "I  guess  some  one 
must  have  started  a  mine  here  once  before." 

"It  does  look  so,"  agreed  Ted. 

"Let's  go  into  the  cave,"  proposed  the 
visitor. 

"No,  grandpa  told  us  we  must  never  go  in 
without  him,"  objected  Jan.  "It's  all  right 
to  stay  outside  here  and  dig,  but  we  mustn't 
go  inside.  The  tramps  might  be  in  there. ' ' 

"That's  right,"  chimed  in  Ted.  "Well 
stay  outside." 

Hal  was  not  very  anxious,  himself,  to  go 
into  the  dark  hole,  so  they  looked  at  the  place 
wher-e  Ted  had  fallen  through  the  loose 
leaves  and  talked  about  whether  it  would  be 
better  to  start  to  make  that  hole  larger  or 


182        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

begin  a  new  one.    The  children  decided  the 
last  would  be  the  best  thing  to  do. 

"We'll  start  a  new  mine  of  our  own,"  said 
Hal.  "I  guess  maybe  somebody  dug  there 
and  couldn't  find  any  gold.  So  we'll  start  a 


new  mine.' 


This  suited  the  Curlytops  and  they  soon 
began  making  the  dirt  fly  with  shovels  and 
hoe,  digging  a  hole  that  was  large  enough  for 
all  three  of  them  to  stand  in.  Hal  said  they 
didn't  want  to  start  by  making  too  small  a 
mine. 

"If  we've  got  to  divide  it  into  three  parts 
we  want  each  one's  part  big  enough  to  see," 
he  said,  and  Ted  and  Jan  agreed  to  this. 

The  ground  was  of  sand  and  very  easy  to 
dig.  There  were  no  big  rocks,  only  a  few 
small  stones,  and  of  course  this  was  just 
what  the  children  liked.  So  that  in  about 
half  an  hour  they  had  really  dug  quite  a 
deep  hole.  It  was  almost  as  easy  digging  as 
it  is  in  the  sand  at  the  seashore,  and  if  any 
of  you  have  been  there  you  know  how  soon, 
even  if  you  use  only  a  big  clam  shell  for  a 
shovel,  you  can  make  a  hole  deep  enough  for 
you  and  your  playmates  to  stand  up  in. 

"Do  you  see  any  gold  yet?"  asked  Jan  of 
the  two  boys,  when  they  had  dug  down  so 


The  Big  Hole 183 

that  only  the  top  parts  of  their  bodies  were 
out  of  the  big  hole. 

"No,  not  yet.  But  well  come  to  it  pretty 
soon/ '  Hal  said. 

"Say,  how 're  we  going  to  get  up  when  the 
hole  gets  too  deep  ? ' '  asked  Ted.  '  *  We  ought 
to  have  a  ladder  or  something." 

"There's  a  ladder  in  camp,"  answered 
Jan.  "Grandpa  had  it  when  he  put  up  our 
real  rope  swing.  Don't  you  remember, 
Ted?" 

"Yes,  that's  right.  We'd  better  get  it  if 
we're  going  any  deeper,  Hal,"  he  added. 

"Course  we're  going  deeper.  Gold  mines 
are  real  deep.  I  guess  the  ladder  would 
be  a  good  thing." 

"Then  we'll  go  for  it.  Jan,  you  can  come 
and  get  us  something  to  eat,  too.  I'm  awful 
hungry." 

"So 'ml,  "said  Hal. 

While  Jan  was  in  the  tent-kitchen  begging 
Nora  for  some  cookies  and  sandwiches,  Ted 
and  Hal  carried  the  small  ladder,  which  was 
not  very  heavy,  up  to  the  big  hole  they  had 
started.  By  putting  one  end  of  the  ladder 
down  inside,  allowing  it  to  slant  up  to  the 
top  of  the  hole,  the  children  could  easily  get 
down  in  and  climb  up. 


184        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

After  they  had  eaten  the  things  Jan  got 
from  Nora,  they  began  digging  again.  The 
hole  was  soon  so  deep  that  the  dirt  which 
was  shoveled  and  hoed  away  from  the  bot- 
tom and  sides  could  no  longer  be  tossed  out 
by  Ted  and  Jan. 

"  We've  got  to  get  a  pail  and  hoist  up  the 
dirt,"  decided  Hal.  "That's  what  they  do 
in  gold  mines.  One  of  us  must  stay  at  the 
bottom  and  dig  the  dirt  and  fill  the  pail,  and 
the  other  pull  it  up  by  a  rope." 

"We'll  take  turns,"  said  Teddy. 

"And  I  want  to  help,  too!"  cried  Jan,  so 
the  boys  agreed  to  let  her,  especially  as  they 
had  seen  that  she  could  dig  and  toss  dirt  al- 
most as  well  as  they  could.  They  found  an 
old  pail  and  part  of  a  clothes-line  for  the 
rope,  and  the  work  at  the  "gold  mine,"  as 
they  called  it,  went  on  more  merrily  than 
before. 

By  this  time  the  hole  was  really  quite  deep 
— so  deep  that  Hal  Chester  could  not  see 
over  the  rim  when  he  stood  up  straight  on 
the  bottom,  and  only  by  using  the  ladder 
could  the  children  get  down  and  up. 

"We  ought  to  find  gold  pretty  soon  now," 
said  Hal,  as  he  climbed  up  to  let  Ted  take  a 
turn  at  going  down  in  the  hole  and  digging. 


The  Big  Hole 185 

Just  then  from  the  camp  they  heard  the 
sound  of  the  supper  bell. 

"Come  on!"  called  Ted,  not  waiting  to  go 
down  into  the  big  hole.  "We  can  dig  some 
more  after  supper  and  to-morrow.  I'm 
hungry!" 

"So 'ml,  "agreed  Hal. 

Leaving  their  shovels  and  the  hoe  on  the 
pile  of  dirt,  the  children  hastened  down  to 
the  tent  where  Nora  had  supper  waiting  for 
them,  and  it  had  a  most  delicious  smell. 

"Where  have  you  children  been?"  asked 
Mrs.  Martin. 

"Oh,  havin'  fun,"  answered  Ted. 

"Don't  forget  your  <g,'  Curlytop," 
warned  his  mother  with  a  laugh.  "Are  you 
hungry,  Hal?" 

*  *  Indeed  I  am  I  This  island  is  a  good  place 
for  getting  hungry." 

"And  this  is  a  good  place  to  be  stopped 
from  getting  hungry,"  laughed  Grandpa 
Martin,  as  he  pulled  his  chair  up  to  the  well- 
filled  table  near  which  Nora  stood  ready  to 
serve  the  meal. 

The  Curly  tops  and  Hal  had  just  a  little 
idea  that  the  grown  folks  would  not  like 
their  plan  of  digging  a  gold  mine,  so  nothing 
was  said  about  it.  Hal,  Ted  and  Jan  looked 


186        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

at  one  another  when  their  plates  were  emp- 
tied, and  then  all  three  of  them  started  once 
more  back  toward  the  big  hole. 

"Where  are  you  going f"  asked  Mother 
Martin. 

"We—       '  began  Jan,  then  stopped. 

"Oh,  we — we're  playing  a  game,"  an- 
swered Ted.  It  was  a  sort  of  game. 

"Can't  you  take  Trouble  with  you ?  You 
haven't  looked  after  him  to-day,"  went  on 
Mrs.  Martin,  "and  I  want  to  help  Nora. 
Take  Trouble  with  you." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Ted,  though  he 
thought  perhaps  Baby  William  might  be  in 
the  way  at  the  gold  mine. 

"Where  is  he?"  asked  Jan. 

They  looked  around  for  the  little  fellow. 
He  was  not  in  sight. 

"He  got  down  from  the  table  and  was 
playing  over  there  on  the  path  a  while  ago," 
said  Grandpa  Martin,  and  he  pointed  toward 
the  path  that  led  to  the  gold  mine.  But 
Trouble  was  not  in  sight  now. 

"He  must  have  wandered  off  into  the 
woods,"  said  his  mother.  "I've  kept  him 
close  by  me  all  day,  and  he  didn't  like  it. 
Trouble!  William!"  she  called  aloud. 
"Where  are  you?" 


The  Big  Hole  187 


Ted  and  Jan  looked  at  one  another.  Hal 
seemed  startled.  The  same  thought  came  to 
all  three  of  them  : 

"  Suppose  Trouble  had  fallen  down  the  big 
hole  at  the  gold  mine?" 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A  GLAD  SURPRISE 

JANET,  Ted  and  Hal  started  to  run. 

" Where  are  you  going?"  called  Mrs. 
Martin  after  them.  "Wait  for  Trouble ! ' ' 

"We're  going  to  find  him,"  answered 
Janet. 

"Maybe  he  fell  down  the  big  hole  we  dug 
for  a  gold  mine,"  added  Ted. 

"What  do  you  nean?"  gasped  Mrs. 
Martin. 

"What  have  you  Curlytops  been  up  to 
now?"  asked  Grandpa  Martin. 

"We  dug  a  big  hole  to  find  the  gold  the 
tramps  are  looking  for  on  this  island,"  ex- 
plained Hal,  who  walked  on  slowly,  follow- 
ing Mrs.  Martin,  who  had  run  after  Ted  and 
Janet.  * '  Maybe  the  little  boy  fell  into  it. ' ' 

"Where  did  you  dig  the  big  hole?"  asked 
grandpa,  and  he,  too,  began  to  be  afraid  that 
something  had  happened. 

188 


A  Glad  Surprise  189 

"Up  near  what  Ted  calls  the  cave.  It's 
got  a  ladder  in  it,  our  gold  mine  hole  has,  and 
maybe  Trouble  could  climb  out  on  that/' 

" If  it's  a  hole  deep  enough  for  a  ladder, 
I'm  afraid  he  couldn't/'  said  Grandpa  Mar- 
tin. "You  children  must  have  dug  a  pretty 
big  hole." 

"We  wanted  to  find  the  gold,"  explained 
Hal. 

"What  gold?" 

"The  gold  the  tramps  are  looking  for  here 
on  Star  Island.  Ted  told  me  about  them, 
and  I  suppose  they  were  after  gold.  We 
want  to  find  it  first." 

"There  isn't  any  gold  here,  and  you 
mustn't  dig  holes  so  deep  that  Trouble 
— or  anyone  else — would  wander  off  and 
fall  into  them,"  said  Mr.  Martin.  "How- 
ever, I  presume  it  will  be  all  right.  But  we 
must  hurry  there  and  find  out  what  has  hap- 
pened." 

He  and  Hal  hastened  on,  following  Mrs. 
Martin  and  the  Curlytops,  who  were  now 
out  of  sight  around  a  turn  in  the  path  that 
led  to  the  big  hole.  Hal  was  rather  fright- 
ened, for  he  knew  it  was  his  idea,  more  than 
the  plans  of  Jan  and  Ted,  that  had  caused 
the  "gold  mine"  to  be  dug. 


190        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

On  and  on,  along  the  path  and  up  the  hill 
hurried  grandpa  and  Mrs.  Martin  and  the 
children.  They  called  aloud  for  Trouble,  but 
he  did  not  answer.  At  least  they  could  not 
hear  him  if  he  did.  He  must  have  gone 
quietly  away  from  the  table  when  no  one 
noticed  him.  He  had  had  his  supper  before 
the  Curlytops  and  Hal  came  from  their  dig- 
ging. 

"There's  the  pile  of  dirt,"  called  back 
Ted,  who  was  running  on  ahead.  He  pointed 
to  the  mound  of  yellow  sand  that  he,  Hal  and 
Jan  had  dug  out  of  the  hole. 

"And  some  one  is  there,  digging!"  cried 
Jan.  * '  Oh,  maybe  it 's  Trouble ! ' ' 

"I  only  hope  he  hasn't  fallen  in  and  hurt 
himself!"  murmured  Mrs.  Martin. 

By  this  time  Grandpa  Martin  and  Hal 
had  caught  up  to  the  others.  They  could  all 
see  some  one  making  the  dirt  fly  on  top  of 
the  yellow  mound  of  sand  at  one  side  of  the 
big  hole. 

As  Ted  came  nearer  he  saw  a  man  on  top 
of  the  dirt,  using  a  shovel.  The  man  was 
digging  quickly,  and  at  first  Teddy  thought 
it  was  one  of  the  tramps.  But  a  second  look 
showed  him  he  was  wrong.  And  then  came  a 
glad  surprise,  for  the  man  called : 


A  Glad  Surprise  191 

"I'll  have  him  out  in  a  minute.  He  isn't 
under  very  deep!" 

"Why  it's  the  lollypop  man!"  cried  Jan. 

And  so  it  was,  Mr.  Sander,  the  jolly,  fat 
man  who  sold  waffles  and  lollypops. 

'  *  Is  Trouble  in  the  hole  f  Are  you  digging 
him  out?"  gasped  Mrs.  Martin,  and  she  felt 
as  though  she  were  going  to  faint,  she  said 
afterward. 

"  No !  Trouble  isn  't  here — I  mean  he  isn  't 
in  the  hole!"  cried  Mr.  Sander.  "It's  your 
goat,  Nicknack,  who's  buried  under  the  sand. 
But  his  nose  is  sticking  out  so  he  won't 
smother,  and  I'll  soon  have  him  all  the  way 
out." 

"But  where  is  Trouble?"  cried  Baby 
William's  mother. 

"There  he  is,  safe  and  sound,  tied  to  a  tree 
so  he  can't  get  in  the  way  of  the  dirt  I'm 
shoveling  out.  I  didn't  want  to  throw  sand 
in  his  eyes ! ' '  cried  the  lollypop  man.  ' '  Trou- 
ble is  all  right!" 

And  so  the  little  fellow  was,  though  he  had 
been  crying,  perhaps  from  fright,  and  his 
face  was  tear-streaked  and  dirty.  But  he 
was  safe. 

With  a  glad  cry  his  mother  loosed  the  rope 
by  which  Mr.  Sander  had  carefully  tied 


192 


Trouble  to  a  near-by  tree  and  gathered  him 
up  in  her  arms. 

Meanwhile  Grandpa  Martin  caught  up 
one  of  the  shovels  and  began  to  help  the  lolly- 
pop  man  dig  in  the  sand.  The  Curlytops 
and  Hal  saw  what  had  happened.  A  lot  of 
the  dirt  they  had  shoveled  out  had  slid  back 
into  the  big  hole,  almost  filling  it.  And 
caught  under  this  dirt  was  Nicknack,  their 
goat.  Only  the  black  tip  of  his  nose  stuck 
out,  and  it  is  a  good  thing  this  much  of  him 
was  uncovered,  or  he  might  have  smothered 
under  the  sand. 

"How  did  it  happen  I"  asked  Ted. 

"There  must  have  been  a  cave-in  at  our 
gold  mine,"  said  Hal. 

"But  how  did  Nicknack  get  here?"  Ted 
went  on. 

"I  guess  Trouble  must  have  untied  him 
and  brought  him  here."  suggested  Janet. 

Then  they  all  watched  while  Grandpa 
Martin  and  the  lollypop  man  dug  out  the 
goat. 

"Baa-a-a-a-a!"  bleated  Nicknack  as  he 
scrambled  out  after  most  of  the  sand  had 
been  shoveled  off  his  back.  i  l  Baa-a-a-a ! ' ' 

*  *  My  I  I  guess  he 's  glad  to  get  out  I ' '  cried 
Ted. 


A  Glad  Surprise  193 

"I  guess  so!"  agreed  the  lollypop  man. 
"I  got  here  just  as  the  dirt  caved  in  on  him, 
and  I  began  to  dig  as  soon  as  I  tied  Trouble 
out  of  the  way  so  he'd  be  safe." 

"But  how  did  you  come  to  be  here  I"  asked 
Grandpa  Martin. 

"And  how  did  our  goat  get  here?"  asked 
Janet. 

"I  saw  Trouble  leading  him  along  by  the 
strap  on  his  horns,"  explained  Mr.  Sander. 
"I  guess  he  must  have  taken  him  out  of  his 
stable  when  you  folks  weren't  looking. 
Trouble  led  the  goat  up  on  top  of  the  pile  of 
sand  near  the  hole.  I  called  to  him  to  be 
careful. 

"Just  as  I  did  so  the  sand  slid  down  and 
I  saw  the  goat  go  down  into  the  hole.  Baby 
William  fell  down,  but  he  didn't  slide  in 
with  the  dirt.  Then  I  ran  and  picked  him 
up,  and  I  tied  him  to  the  tree  with  a  piece  of 
rope  I  found  fast  to  a  pail.  I  thought  that 
was  the  best  way  to  keep  him  out  of  danger 
while  I  dug  out  the  goat." 

"I  guess  it  was,"  said  Grandpa  Martin. 

"Poor  Trouble  cried  when  I  tied  him  fast, 
but  I  knew  crying  wouldn't  hurt  him,  and 
falling  under  a  lot  of  sand  might.  I  dug  as 
fast  as  I  could,  for  I  knew  how  ycu  Curly- 


194        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

tops  loved  your  goat.  He's  all  right,  I 
guess." 

And  Nicknack  was  none  the  worse  for 
having  been  buried  under  the  sliding  sand. 
As  they  learned  afterward  Trouble  had 
slipped  off  to  have  some  fun  by  himself  with 
the  pet  animal.  Baby  William  had,  some- 
how, found  his  way  to  the  "gold  mine,"  and 
pretending  the  pile  of  sand  was  a  mountain 
had  led  Nicknack  up  it.  Then  had  come  the 
slide  down  into  the  big  hole  which  Hal  and 
the  Curlytops  had  dug.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  Mr.  Sander  appearing  when  he  did,  poor 
Nicknack  might  have  died. 

"But,  Trouble.  You  must  never,  never, 
never  go  away  again  alone  with  Nicknack!" 
warned  Mother  Martin.  "Never!  Do  you 
hear?" 

"Me  won't!"  promised  the  little  fellow. 

"And  you  children  mustn't  dig  any  more 
deep  holes, ' '  said  Grandpa  Martin.  *  *  There 
isn't  any  gold  on  this  island,  so  don't  look 
for  it." 

"But  what  are  the  tramps  looking  for?" 
Ted  asked. 

"I  can't  tell  you.  But,  no  matter  about 
that,  don't  dig  any  more  deep  holes.  They're 
dangerous!" 


A  Glad  Surprise  195 

"We  won't!"  promised  the  Curlytops  and 
Hal. 

"How  did  you  oome  to  pay  a  visit  to  Star 
Island,  Mr.  Sander?"  asked  the  children's 
mother. 

"Well,  I'm  stopping  for  the  night  on  the 
main  shore  just  across  from  here,"  was  the 
answer,  "so,  having  had  my  supper  and  hav- 
ing made  my  bed  in  my  red  wagon,  I  thought 
I'd  come  over  and  pay  you  a  visit.  I  heard 
you  were  camping  here,  so  I  borrowed  a  boat 
and  rowed  over.  I  walked  along  this  path, 
and  I  happened  to  see  Trouble  and  the  goat. 
Then  I  knew  I  had  found  the  right  place, 
but  I  did  not  imagine  I'd  have  to  come  to 
the  rescue  of  my  friend  Nicknack, "  and  with 
a  laugh  he  patted  the  shaggy  coat  of  the  ani- 
mal, that  rubbed  up  against  the  kind  lolly- 
pop  man. 

"Well,  come  back  to  the  tent  and  visit  a 
while,"  was  Grandpa  Martin's  invitation. 
"We're  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you." 

"What  does  all  this  mean  about  tramps 
and  a  gold  mine?"  asked  Mr.  Sander.  "If 
there's  gold  to  be  had  in  an  easier  way  than 
by  selling  hot  waffles  from  a  red  wagon  with 
a  white  horse  to  pull  it,  I'd  like  to  know 
about  it,"  he  added  with  a  jolly  laugh. 


196        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

"Oh,  ho!  Oh,  ho!  "he  cried.  "Hot  waf- 
fles do  I  sell.  Hot  waffles  I  love  well ! ' ' 

"Did  you  bring  any  with  you  ?"  asked  Ted 
eagerly. 

"Indeed  I  did,  my  little  Curlytop.  They 
may  not  be  hot  now,  but  maybe  your  mother 
can  warm  them  on  the  stove,''  and  picking 
up  a  package  he  had  laid  down  near  the 
tree  to  which  he  had  tied  Trouble,  the  lolly- 
pop  man  gave  it  to  Mrs.  Martin  with  a  low 
bow. 

"Waffles  for  the  Curlytops,"  he  said 
laughing. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

TROUBLE'S  PLAYHOUSE 

SAFE  once  more  in  their  camp,  the  chil- 
dren ate  the  waffles  which  Nora  made  nice 
and  crisp  again  over  the  fire.  Trouble  was 
comforted  and  made  happy  by  two  of  the 
sugar-covered  cakes,  and  then  everyone  told 
told  his  or  her  share  in  what  had  just  hap- 
pened. 

"So  you  think  there  are  gold-hunting 
tramps  here?"  asked  the  lollypop  man,  just 
before  he  got  ready  to  go  back  to  the  main- 
land where  he  had  left  his  red  wagon  and 
white  horse. 

"Well,  there  are  ragged  men  here — 
tramps  I  suppose  you  could  call  them,"  an- 
swered Grandpa  Martin.  "But  I  don't 
know  anything  about  gold.  That's  one  of 
Hal's  ideas." 

"I  couldn't  think  of  anything  else  they'd 
be  looking  for,"  explained  Ted's  friend. 

197 


198 


"Don't  you  think  it  might  be  gold,  Mr. 
Martin?" 

"Hardly — on  this  island.  Anyhow  we 
haven't  seen  the  ragged  men  lately,  so  they 
may  have  gone.  Perhaps  they  were  only 
stray  fishermen.  We  would  like  to  thank 
one  for  having  pulled  Trouble  out  of  the 
spring,  only  we  haven't  had  the  chance." 

"No.  He  ran  away  without  stopping  for 
thanks, ' '  said  Baby  William 's  mother.  '  *  He 
must  be  a  kind  man,  even  if  he  is  a  tramp. ' ' 

After  a  little  more  talk  while  they  were 
seated  about  the  campfire  Grandpa  Martin 
built  in  front  of  the  tents,  during  which  time 
the  lollypop  man  told  of  his  travels  since  he 
had  helped  sell  the  cherries  for  the  chewing 
candy,  Mr.  Sander  rowed  back  to  the  main 
shore  to  sleep  in  his  red  wagon,  which  was 
like  a  little  house  on  wheels. 

"Come  again!"  invited  Mrs.  Martin. 

"I  will  when  any  more  goats  fall  into  gold 
mines,"  he  promised  with  a  laugh. 

The  next  day  Grandpa  Martin  filled  up 
the  hole  Ted,  Jan  and  Hal  had  dug,  thus 
making  sure  that  neither  Trouble  nor  any- 
one else,  not  even  Nicknack  the  goat,  would 
again  fall  down  into  it.  For  when  the  sand 
slid  into  the  "gold  mine,"  carrying  the  goat 


Trouble's  Playhouse  199 

with  it,  the  hole  was  not  altogether  filled. 
Then  Grandpa  Martin  brought  away  the  hoe 
and  shovels,  and  told  the  children  they  must 
play  at  some  other  game. 

"Where  are  you  going  now?"  called  Mrs. 
Martin  to  the  two  Curlytops,  as  they  started 
away  from  camp  one  morning.  Hal  stayed 
in  the  tent,  as  he  was  tired. 

"Oh,  we're  just  going  for  a  walk,"  an- 
swered Teddy. 

"We  want  to  have  some  fun,"  added  his 
sister. 

"Well,  don't  go  digging  any  more  gold 
mines,"  warned  Grandpa  Martin,  with  a 
laugh.  "All  the  fun  of  camping  will  be 
spoiled  if  you  get  into  that  sort  of  trouble 
again." 

"We  won't,"  promised  Janet,  and  Teddy 
nodded  his  head  to  show  that  he,  too,  would 
at  least  try  to  be  good. 

It  was  not  that  the  Curlytops  were  bad— 
that  is,  any  worse  than  perhaps  you  children 
are  sometimes,  or,  perhaps,  some  boys  or 
girls  you  know  of.  They  were  just  playful 
and  full  of  life,  and  wanted  to  be  doing 
something  all  the  while. 

"Do  you  want  to  take  Trouble  with  you  ?" 
asked  Mrs.  Martin,  as  Ted  and  Janet  started 


200        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

away  from  camp,  and  down  a  woodland 
path. 

1 '  Yes,  we  '11  take  him, ' '  said  Janet.  ' '  Come 
on,  little  brother, ' '  she  went  on.  '  *  Come  with 
sister  and  have  some  fun." 

"Only  I  can't  play  in  de  dirt  'cause  I  got 
on  a  clean  apron,"  said  Baby  William. 

"No,  we  won't  let  you  play  in  the  dirt," 
Teddy  remarked.  "But  don't  fall  down, 
either.  That's  where  he  gets  so  dirty," 
Teddy  told  his  mother.  "He's  always  fall- 
ing down,  Trouble  is." 

"It — it's  so — s'ippery  in  de  woods!"  said 
the  little  fellow. 

"So  it  is — on  the  pine  needles,"  laughed 
Grandpa  Martin,  who  was  going  to  the  main- 
land in  the  boat.  But  this  time  he  did  not 
want  to  take  the  children  with  him.  "It  is 
slippery  in  the  woods,  Trouble,  my  boy.  But 
keep  tight  hold  of  Jan's  hand,  and  maybe 
you  won't  fall  down." 

"Me  will,"  said  Trouble,  but  he  did  not 
mean  that  he  would  fall  down.  He  meant 
he  would  keep  tight  hold  of  Jan's  hand. 
Then  he  started  off  by  her  side,  with  Ted 
walking  on  ahead,  ready  for  anything  he 
might  see  that  would  make  fun  for  him  and 
his  sister. 


Trouble's  Playhouse  201 

Through  the  woods  they  wandered,  now 
and  then  stopping  to  gather  some  pretty 
flowers,  on  graceful,  green  ferns,  and  again 
waiting  to  listen  to  the  song  of  some  wild 
bird,  which  flitted  about  from  branch  to 
branch,  but  which  seemed  always  to  keep 
out  of  sight  amid  the  leaves  of  the  forest 
trees. 

"Oh,  isn't  it  just  lovely  here !"  said  Janet, 
as  they  came  to  a  little  grassy  dell,  around 
which  the  trees  grew  in  a  sort  of  circle,  or 
magic,  fairy  ring.  "It's  just  like  in  a  pic- 
ture book,  Teddy!" 

"Yes,  it  is,"  agreed  her  brother. 

"I  don't  see  any  pisshures,"  complained 
Trouble. 

"No,  there  aren't  real  pictures  here,"  ex- 
plained Janet;  "only  make-believe  ones. 
But  you  can  sit  down  on  the  grass  and  roll, 
Trouble.  The  grass  is  so  clean  I  guess  it 
won't  make  your  apron  dirty.  Roll  on  the 
grass." 

Trouble  liked  nothing  better  than  this,  and 
he  was  soon  sitting  on  the  soft,  green  grass, 
pulling  bits  and  tossing  them  in  the  air  like 
a  shower.  The  grass  was  soft  and  thick,  and 
did  not  soil  his  clean  clothes  at  all. 

"Exceptin'   maybe   a   little   stain,"   ex- 


202        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

plained  Janet  to  Teddy;  "and  Nora  can  get 
that  out  in  the  wash." 

After  they  had  sat  in  the  shade  for  a 
while,  in  the  green,  grassy  place,  Ted  and 
Janet  wandered  off  among  the  trees,  leaving 
Trouble  by  himself.  But  they  were  not  go- 
ing far. 

"He'll  be  all  right  for  a  little  while,"  said 
Teddy,  "and  maybe  we  can  find  some  sassa- 
fras or  wintcrgreen. " 

"But  we  mustn't  eat  anything  we  find  in 
the  woods,  lessen  we  show  it  to  grandpa  or 
mother,"  returned  Janet. 

1 1  No,  that 's  so, ' '  agreed  her  brother.  They 
had  been  told,  as  all  children  should  be  who 
live  near  the  woods  or  fields,  never  to  eat 
any  strange  berries  or  plants  unless  some 
older  person  tells  them  it  is  all  right  to  do 
so. 

But  Teddy  and  Janet  could  easily  tell  sas- 
safras and  wintergreen  by  the  pleasant  smell 
of  the  leaves.  They  did  not  find  any,  how- 
ever. They  found  a  bird's  empty  nest, 
though,  with  broken  egg  shells  in  it,  showing 
that  the  little  birds  had  been  hatched  out  and 
had  flown  away. 

All  at  once,  as  the  Curlytops  were  won- 
dering what  else  they  could  do,  they  heard 


Trouble's  Playhouse  203 

Trouble  calling,  and  his  voice  sounded  very 
strange. 

"Oh,  what  has  happened  to  him  now?" 
cried  Janet. 

1 1 We'd  better  go  to  see!"  exclaimed 
Teddy. 

They  ran  back  to  where  they  had  left  their 
little  brother.  All  they  could  see  of  him  was 
his  back  and  legs.  He  did  not  seem  to  have 
any  head. 

"Oh!  Oh!"  gasped  Janet.  "Where  is 
Trouble's  head?" 

Ted  did  not  know,  and  said  so,  and  then 
the  little  fellow  cried : 

"Turn  an*  det  me  out!  Turn  an'  det  me 
out!" 

Then  Janet  saw  what  had  happened. 
Trouble  had  thrust  his  head  between  the 
crotch,  or  the  Y-shaped  part,  of  a  tree,  and 
had  become  so  tightly  wedged  that  he  could 
not  get  out. 

"Oh,  what  shall  we  do  I"  cried  Janet. 

"  I  '11  show  you, ' '  answered  Teddy.  * '  You 
can  help  me."  Then  he  pushed  on  the  little 
boy's  head,  and  Janet  pulled,  and  he  was 
soon  free  again,  a  little  scratched  about  the 
neck,  and  frightened,  but  not  hurt. 

"You  must  never  do  such  a  thing  again," 


204        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

said  Mrs.  Martin,  when  the  children  reached 
camp  and  told  her  what  had  happened. 

"No,  we  won't  do  it  any  more,"  promised 
Trouble,  feeling  of  his  neck,  where  he  had 
thrust  it  between  the  parts  of  the  tree. 

"And  you  mustn't  go  off  again,  and  leave 
him  by  himself,"  said  their  mother  to  the 
Curlytops.  "There  is  no  telling  what  he'll 
do." 

"That's  right,"  said  Grandpa  Martin 
with  a  laugh.  "You  may  go  away,  leaving 
Trouble  standing  on  his  feet,  but  when  you 
come  back  he's  standing  on  his  head.  Oh, 
you're  a  great  bunch  of  trouble!"  and  he 
caught  the  little  fellow  up  in  his  arms  and 
kissed  him. 

For  several  days  Teddy  and  Janet  and 
Hal  had  many  good  times  on  Star  Island. 
Then  they  wanted  something  new  for  amuse- 
ment. 

"Let's  make  a  trap  and  catch  something," 
said  Ted,  after  he  and  Jan  had  spoken  of 
several  ways  of  having  fun. 

"How  can  you  make  a  trap?"  Hal  asked. 

"I'll  show  you,"  offered  Ted.  "You  just 
take  a  box,  turn  it  upside  down,  and  raise 
one  end  by  putting  a  stick  under  it.  Then 
you  tie  a  string  to  the  stick,  and  when  you 


Trouble's  Playhouse 205 

pull  the  string  the  stick  is  yanked  out  and 
the  box  falls  down  and  you  catch  some- 
thing. " 

"What  do  you  catch?"  Hal  asked. 

"Oh,  birds,  or  an  animal — maybe  a  fox  or 
a  muskrat — whatever  goes  under  the  box 
when  it's  raised  up." 

"But  what  makes  them  go  under?"  Hal 
inquired. 

"To  get  something  to  eat.  You  see  you 
put  some  bait  under  the  box — some  crumbs 
for  birds  or  pieces  of  meat  for  a  fox  or  a 
muskrat.  Then  you  hide  in  the  bushes,  with 
the  end  of  the  string  in  your  hand  and  when 
you  see  anything  right  under  the  box  you 
pull  it  and  catch  'em I" 

"Oh,  but  doesn't  it  hurt  them?"  asked 
Hal,  who  had  a  very  kind  heart. 

"Maybe  it  might,  Ted,"  put  in  Jan. 

1 '  No.  It  doesn  't  hurt  'em  a  bit, ' '  declared 
Ted.  "They  just  stay  under  the  box,  you 
know,  like  in  a  cage." 

"I  wouldn't  like  to  catch  a  bird, "  said  Hal 
softly.  "You  see  the  birds  are  friends  of 
Princess  Blue  Eyes.  She  wouldn't  like  to 
have  them  caught." 

"Oh,  well,  we  could  let  them  go  again," 
Ted  decided,  after  a  little  thought. 


206        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

i  '  Does  Princess  Blue  Eyes  like  foxes  and 
muskrats  too?"  Jan  asked  softly. 

"I  guess  she  likes  everything — birds,  ani- 
mals and  flowers.  Anyway  I  make-believe 
she  does,"  and  Hal  smiled.  "Of  course 
she's  only  a  pretend-person,  but  I  like  to 
think  she's  real.  I  like  to  dream  of  her." 

"I  would,  too,"  said  Janet  softly.  "We 
mustn't  catch  any  birds,  Ted,  nor  animals, 
either." 

"Not  if  we  let  them  go  right  off  quick?" 
Ted  asked. 

"No,"  and  Janet  shook  her  head.  "It 
might  scare  'em  you  know.  And  the  box 
might  fall  on  their  legs,  or  their  wings,  if  it's 
a  bird,  and  hurt  them." 

"Well,  then,  we  won't  do  it !"  decided  Ted. 
"I  wouldn't  want  to  hurt  anything,  and  I 
wouldn't  want  to  make  your  friend,  Princess 
Blue  Eyes,  feel  bad,"  he  added  to  Hal.  He 
remembered  the  story  Hal  had  told  about  the 
make-believe  Princess,  when  they  sat  in  the 
green  meadow  studded  with  yellow  butter- 
cups and  white  daisies. 

"Let's  play  store!"  suggested  Jan. 
"There's  lots  of  pretty  stones  and  shells  on 
the  shore,  and  we  can  use  them  for  money." 

"What '11  we  sell?"  asked  Hal. 


Trouble's  Playhouse  287 

"Oh,  we  can  sell  other  stones — big  ones — 
for  bread,  and  sand  for  sugar  and  leaves  for 
cookies  and  things  like  that/'  Janet  pro- 
posed. 

"I  wish  we  had  something  real  to  eat,  and 
then  we  could  sell  that  and  it  would  be  some 
good,"  remarked  Ted.  "I'm  going  to  ask 
Nora." 

1 '  Oh,  that  '11  be  fun  I "  cried  Jan.  '  <  Come 
on,  Hal.  We'll  get  the  store  ready  and  Ted 
can  go  in  and  ask  Nora  for  some  real  cookies 
and  maybe  a  piece  of  cake." 

Nora,  good-natured  as  she  always  was, 
gave  Ted  a  nice  lot  of  broken  cookies,  some 
crackers  and  some  lumps  of  sugar  so  the 
children  could  play  store  and  really  eat  the 
things  they  sold.  Hal  gathered  some  mussel 
shells  and  colored  stones  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  and  these  were  money. 

The  store  counter  was  made  by  putting  a 
board  across  two  boxes  and  they  took  turns 
being  the  storekeeper.  Trouble  wanted  to 
play,  too.  But  he  only  wanted  to  buy  bits  of 
molasses  cookies,  and  he  ate  the  pieces  as 
fast  as  he  got  them,  without  pretending  to 
go  out  of  the  store  to  take  them  home. 

"Me  buy  more  tookie!"  he  would  say, 
swallowing  the  last  crumb  and  hurrying  up 


208        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

to  the  board  counter  with  another  "penny," 
which  was  a  shell  or  a  stone. 

"You  mustn't  eat  them  up  so  fast, 
Trouble,"  said  Janet.  "Else  we  won't  have 
any  left  to  play  store  with." 

"Oh,  well,  we  can  get  more  from  Nora," 
said  Ted.  "And  the  cookies  taste  awful 
good." 

They  played  store  until  there  were  no 
more  good  things  left  to  eat  and  Nora  would 
not  hand  out  any  others  from  her  boxes  and 
pans  in  the  kitchen  tent.  Then  the  Curly- 
tops  and  Hal  got  in  the  rowboat  and  pad- 
dled about  in  the  shallow  cove. 

Trouble  did  not  go  with  them,  his  mother 
saying  he  must  have  a  little  sleep  so  he  would 
not  be  so  cross  in  the  afternoon.  And  when 
Jan,  her  brother  and  Hal  came  up  from  the 
lake  they  found  the  little  fellow  making 
what  he  called  a  "playhouse." 

"Oh,  what  funny  stones  Trouble  has!" 
cried  Ted  as  he  saw  them.  "They're  blue." 

"They're  pretty,"  decided  Janet. 
" Where 'd  you  get  them,  Trouble?" 

"Over  dere,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  spot 
some  distance  from  the  camp. 

"He  found  them  himself  and  brought 
them  here  in  his  apron,"  said  Mrs.  Martin. 


Trouble's  Playhouse  209 

"He's  been  piling  them  up  into  what  I  called 
a  castle,  but  he  says  it's  a  playhouse.  He's 
been  very  good  playing  with  the  blue 
stones." 

" Let's  get  some  too,  and  see  who  can  build 
the  biggest  castle!"  cried  Janet.  "Show  us 
where  you  got  them,  Trouble." 

But  when  Baby  William  toddled  to  the 
place  where  he  had  picked  up  the  blue  stones 
there  were  no  more.  He  had  gathered  them 
all,  it  seemed,  and  now  would  not  let  his 
brother  or  sister  take  any  from  his  pile. 

However  they  found  other  stones  which 
did  as  well,  though  they  were  not  blue  in 
color,  and  soon  the  Curlytops  and  Hal,  as 
well  as  Trouble,  were  making  a  little  house 
of  stones. 

"This  is  more  fun  than  playing  store!" 
cried  Janet,  as  she  made  a  little  round  tower 
as  part  of  her  castle. 

"Are  you  making  a  palace  for  Princess 
Blue  Eyes,  Hal?"  asked  Ted. 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  for  his  stone  castle 
was  rather  a  1  arge  one.  ' l  But  I  can 't  be  sure 
she  '11  like  it.  She  doesn  't  want  to  stay  in  one 
place  very  long.  She's  like  a  firefly — always 
dancing  about." 

And  so  they  pretended  and  played,  having 


210        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

a  very  good  time,  while  Mother  Martin 
watched  them  and  smiled.  The  children 
were  having  great  fun  camping  with 
grandpa. 

The  castles  finished — Trouble's  being  the 
prettiest  because  of  the  blue  stones,  though 
not  as  large  or  fancy  as  the  others — the 
Curlytops,  Hal  and  Baby  William  went  on  a 
little  picnic  in  the  woods  that  afternoon,  tak- 
ing Nicknack  with  them.  Or  rather,  the 
goat  took  them,  for  he  pulled  them  in  the 
cart  along  the  forest  path. 

When  Jan,  Hal  and  Ted  were  eating 
breakfast  the  next  morning  they  heard  a 
cry  from  Trouble,  who  had  toddled  out  of 
the  tent  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  meal. 

"Oh,  what  has  happened  to  him  now?" 
exclaimed  Mother  Martin.  "Run  and  see, 
Jan,  dear,  that's  a  good  girl!" 

Janet  found  her  little  brother  at  the  place 
where  they  had  made  the  castles  the  night 
before.  Trouble's  eyes  were  filled  with 
tears. 

"My  p'ayhouse  all  gone!"  he  cried. 
"Trouble's  house  all  goned  away!" 

It  was  true.  Not  a  trace  of  his  playhouse 
was  left!  In  the  night  someone  or  some- 
thing had  taken  the  blue  stones  away. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

IN  THE  CAVE 

TROUBLE  felt  very  bad  about  his  play- 
house of  blue  stones  which  had  been  taken 
away.  He  was  only  a  little  fellow,  and  when 
he  had  gone  to  so  much  work,  building  up 
what  looked  like  a  fairy  castle,  he  surely 
thought  he  would  find  it  where  he  left  it  at 
night  to  have  it  to  play  with  the  next  morn- 
ing. But  it  was  gone. 

"All  goned,"  sobbed  Trouble. 

"Isn't  it  funny,  though?"  said  Teddy. 
"Mine  is  all  right,  and  so  is  yours,  Jan,  and 
Hal 's,  too.  They  just  spoiled  Trouble 's. ' ' 

"Maybe  it  was  Nicknack,"  suggested  Jan. 
"He  might  have  got  loose  in  the  night  and 
knocked  it  down.  But  he  didn't  mean  to  I 
guess,  for  he's  a  good  goat." 

"It  couldn't  have  been  Nicknack,"  de- 
clared Hal. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Ted.    "Didn't  he  fall 

211 


212        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

down  into  the  big  hole  when  Trouble  led  him 
to  it?" 

"Yes,  but  Nicknack  is  there  in  his  stable. 
He  isn't  loose  at  all,  and  he'd  have  to  be  loose 
to  come  here  and  knock  over  Trouble's  play- 
house. The  goat  is  tied  fast  just  where  he 
was  last  night. " 

So  Nicknack  was;  and  Grandpa  Martin, 
who  was  the  first  one  up  in  the  camp  that 
morning,  said  the  goat  was  lying  quietly 
down  in  his  stable  when  he  went  to  give  him 
a  drink  of  water.  So  it  couldn't  have  been 
Nicknack. 

"Anyhow,  Trouble's  blue-stone  castle 
wasn't  just  knocked  down,"  went  on  Hal, 
"it's  gone — every  stone  is  gone.  Somebody 
took  'em!" 

Jan  and  Ted  noticed  this  for  the  first  time. 
When  Trouble  had  called  out  that  his  play- 
house was  gone  they  had  thought  he  meant 
it  was  just  knocked  over.  But,  instead,  it 
was  gone  completely.  Not  a  blue  stone  was 
left. 

And,  strangely  enough,  none  of  the  other 
three  castles  was  touched.  Hal  had  built 
quite  a  large  one,  but  not  a  stone  had  been 
taken  from  it. 

"Where  my  p'ayhouse?"  asked  Trouble, 


In  the  Cave  213 

looking  all  about.    '  *  I  want  my  p  'ayhouse. ' ' 

"We'll  find  it  for  you/'  promised  Jan, 
though  she  did  not  know  how  she  was  going 
to  do  it.  Perhaps  Hal  could  think  of  a  way. 
Hal  was  older  than  Jan  and  Ted. 

"What's  the  matter,  Curlytops?"  asked 
Mother  Martin  as  she  came  out  of  the  tent. 
' '  Has  anything  happened  ?  Why  is  Trouble 
crying  ?  Did  he  get  hurt  f ' ' 

"No,  but  someone  took  away  his  nice  blue 
stone  castle,"  explained  Jan,  and  she  and 
the  others  took  turns  telling  what  had  hap- 
pened. 

"It  is  queer,"  said  Grandpa  Martin, 
when  he  came  up  and  heard  what  had  taken 
place.  "I  wonder  if  any  of  those 

Then  he  stopped  talking  and  looked  at  the 
children's  mother  in  a  queer  way.  She 
nodded  her  head,  glanced  down  at  the  Curly- 
tops  and  Hal,  and  put  her  finger  across  her 
lips  as  your  teacher  does  in  school  when  she 
wants  someone  to  stop  whispering. 

Hal  saw  what  Mrs.  Martin  did,  but 
neither  Jan  nor  Ted  noticed,  for  they  were 
running  around  looking  for  any  of  the  blue 
stones  that  might  have  been  scattered  from 
Trouble's  playhouse. 

* '  Never  mind, ' '  said  Mother  Martin.  "  I  '11 


214        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

find  you  something  else  to  play  with,  Trou- 
ble. You  shall  have  a  nice  ride  with  Nick- 
nack.  You'll  take  him,  won't  you,  Jan  and 
Ted?" 

' '  Yes, ' '  they  answered. 

"I  want  my  p'ayhouse!"  sobbed  Baby 
William,  and  for  a  time  he  made  a  fuss  about 
his  missing  blue  stones. 

"I  guess  I  know  what  happened  to  them," 
said  Hal  in  a  whisper  to  Jan  and  Ted  when 
their  mother  had  taken  Trouble  into  the  tent 
to  find  something  with  which  to  amuse  him. 

"What?"  asked  Ted  in  a  whisper. 

"The  tramps!"  exclaimed  Hal,  looking 
over  his  shoulder  to  make  sure  no  one  but 
his  two  little  friends  heard  him.  "That's 
what  your  grandfather  was  going  to  say  the 
time  he  stopped  so  quick.  Your  mother 
didn't  want  him  to  speak  of  them.  But  I'm 
sure  the  tramps  took  the  blue  stones  from 
Trouble's  castle." 

"What  would  they  do  with  'em?"  T*d  de- 
manded. 

"There's  gold  in  'em!"  whispered  Hal, 
more  excited  than  ever  now.  "There's  gold 
in  those  blue  stones,  and  the  tramps  know  it. 
That's  what  they've  been  looking  for.  and 
when  Trouble  had  'em  all  in  a  nice  pi?» 


In  the  Cave  215 


made  into  a  playhouse,  the  tramps  came 
along  in  the  night  and  took  'em  away." 

"Oh,  do  you  s'pose  it  could  happen  that 
way,  really?"  asked  Jan,  her  eyes  big  with 
wonder. 

"Course  it  could!"  said  Hal,  growing 
more  excited  all  the  while.  "I  remember 
now,  gold  doesn't  always  look  yellow  when 
you  find  it,  the  way  it  does  in  a  watch  or  a 
ring.  Sometimes  gold  is  inside  stones  and 
they  have  to  melt  'em  in  the  fire  to  get  the 
gold  out.  My  nurse  at  the  Crippled  Home 
read  me  about  it.  And  there  was  gold  in  the 
blue  stones.  That's  why  the  tramps  came 
and  got  'em — I  mean  them/'  and  he  cor- 
rected himself.  "They  told  me  not  to  §ay 
'em,'  "  he  added  with  a  smile. 

"Do  you  really  think  the  blue  stones  had 
gold  in  'em — them?"  asked  Ted. 

"Yes,  I  do!  Else  why  would  the  tramps 
want  them  ?  They  came  last  night  and  took 
Trouble's  castle — every  stone,  and  now 
they've  hid  the  gold  away." 

"Where?"  asked  Jan,  as  excited  as  the 
boys. 

"I  think  it  must  be  up  in  the  cave,"  went 
on  Hal.  "  If  we  could  only  go  there  and  look 
we  could  find  it  t»e.  Let's  go." 


216        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Maybe  mother  wouldn't  let  us."  sug- 
gested Ted. 

"We  don't  have  to  tell  her,"  said  Jan. 

"I  don't  mean  to  do  anything  bad,  nor 
have  you,"  went  on  Hal.  "But  wouldn't  it 
be  great  if  we  could  go  up  to  the  cave,  with- 
out anybody  knowing  it,  and  get  the  gold? 
Then  your  mother  would  be  glad,  and  your 
grandpa,  too." 

"Maybe  they  would — if  there  was  gold  in 
the  blue  stones,"  agreed  Ted. 

"We  could  pretend  there  was,"  said 
Janet.  "Wouldn't  that  be  fun?  But  I  don't 
want  to  go  into  that  dark  cave  'cept  maybe 
grandpa  goes,  too,  with  a  light." 

"You  wouldn't  be  afraid  with  us,  would 
you?"  asked  Hal. 

"Hal  and  I  would  be  with  you,"  added 
Ted. 

"Well,  maybe  I  wouldn't  be  afraid  if  you 
took  hold  of  my  hands.  But  it's  dark  there 
— awful  dark." 

"IVe  got  one  of  those  little  electric 
lights,"  Hal  said.  "My  father  sent  it  to  me 
for  my  birthday  when  I  was  in  the  Home, 
and  I  didn't  use  it  hardly  at  all,  'cause  I 
wasn't  up  nights.  It  flashes  bright.  I 
brought  it  with  me  when  I  came  to  visit  you, 


In  the  Cave  217 

and  I  can  get  it  and  take  it  to  the  cave  with 


us.' 


'That'll  be  fun!"  cried  Ted.  "Let's  go, 
Jan!"  he  pleaded. 

"Well,  maybe  I  will.  But  hadn't  we  bet- 
ter ask  mother  ?" 

"Majrbe  she'd  say  we  couldn't,"  suggested 
her  brother,  speaking  very  slowly.  "We'll 
tell  her  when  we  come  back." 

Of  course  this  was  not  just  the  right  thing 
to  do,  especially  after  Ted  and  his  sister  had 
been  told  not  to  go  to  the  cave  alone.  But 
they  forgot  all  about  that  when  Hal  spoke 
about  gold  being  in  the  blue  stones.  Ted  and 
Jan  thought  it  would  be  wonderful  if  they 
could  get  some  gold  for  their  mother  and 
grandfather,  who  was  not  as  rich  as  he  had 
been,  even  if  he  did  sell  a  lot  of  cherries. 

"We  can't  take  Trouble  along,"  said  Jan, 
as  she  saw  her  little  brother  coming  out  of 
the  tent.  "We've  got  to  leave  him  here." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Hal.  "But  we  don't  need 
to  go  right  away.  We  can  play  with  him 
awhile.  You  and  Ted  take  care  of  Trouble 
and  I'll  go  to  get  my  flashlight.  I  put  it 
under  my  pillow  last  night." 

"And  I'll  get  something  to  eat  from 
Nora,"  added  Ted.  "We'll  make-believe 


218 


we're  going  on  a  little  picnic  in  the  woods." 

"Oh,  that'll  be  funl"  cried  Jan.  She  was 
not  afraid  to  think  of  the  dark  cave  now. 

"Trouble  want  p'ayhouse!"  cried  Baby 
William,  as  he  toddled  up  to  his  sister. 
"Want  b'ue  stones." 

"I  can't  get  you  the  blue  stones — not 
now,"  said  Janet.  "But  I  guess  Teddy  will 
let  you  knock  down  his  playhouse  and  build 
up  another  one.  And  you  can  knock  down 
my  playhouse,  too.  Come  on,  Trouble ! ' ' 

Knocking  over  the  playhouses  of  stone 
which  his  brother  and  sister  had  built  the 
night  before  seemed  such  great  fun  to  the 
little  boy,  and  he  had  such  a  good  time  doing 
this  and,  with  Jan's  help,  making  another 
and  larger  house  of  his  own,  that  he  forgot 
all  about  his  blue  stones. 

Ted  and  Hal  did  not  forget  them,  though, 
and  the  more  they  thought  of  the  queer  way 
they  had  been  taken  away  in  the  night,  the 
more  they  felt  suj*e  that  the  stones  must  have 
gold  in  them,  or,  at  least,  something  that  the 
tramps  wanted  badly  enough  to  come  and 
take  it. 

And  that  it  was  the  tramps,  or  some  man, 
or  men,  who  had  taken  the  blue  stones,  Hal 
and  Ted  felt  certain. 


In  the  Cave  219 

"For  no  dog  or  other  animal  could  carry 
away  every  stone,"  said  Hal.  "Anyhow  a 
dog  wouldn't  want  them,  nor  a  fox  either. 
It  was  the  tramps  all  right." 

"Maybe  they  wouldn't  like  us  to  go  to  the 
cave  and  get  the  stones  back,"  suggested 
Ted. 

"Well,  the  tramps  can't  have  the  blue 
stones,"  said  Hal,  shaking  his  head.  "We 
found  'em, -and  they're  Trouble's.  But  he's 
so  little  he  don't  want  any  gold,  so  we'll  give 
it  to  your  grandfather  and  grandmother." 

"Don't  you  want  any?"  asked  Ted. 

"No.  My  father's  got  lots  of  money.  I 
just  want  to  find  some  gold  for  you.  I  got 
my  light  from  under  my  pillow,"  and  Hal 
showed  it  to  Ted.  They  were  out  behind  the 
sleeping  tent  talking,  and  Ted  had  his  pock- 
ets full  of  cookies  and  little  cakes  he  had 
begged  from  Nora. 

"Though  what  in  the  world  the  child  is 
going  to  do  with  them  all,  is  more  than  I  can 
guess, ' '  laughed  the  maid.  * '  But  I  s  'pose  the 
children  are  always  hungry." 

Ted  and  Hal  were  now  ready  to  go  to  the 
cave.  They  looked  around  the  corner  of  the 
tent  and  saw  Janet  still  playing  with  Trou- 
ble. He  had  gotten  over  crying  for  his  blue 


220        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

stones,  and  was  now  busy  making  a  play- 
house of  the  rocks  and  pebbles  his  brother 
and  sister  had  used. 

"Come  on,  Janet!  We're  going  I"  called 
Ted  in  a  loud  whisper,  as  his  sister  looked 
at  him.  He  also  made  motions  with  his 
hands  to  show  that  he  and  Hal  were  ready 
to  start  for  the  cave. 

Janet  saw  that  her  little  brother  was  too 
busy  playing  to  need  her  to  stay  with  him — 
at  least  for  a  time.  Still  she  could  not  leave 
him  alone  without  calling  her  mother  or 
Nora  to  watch  what  he  did. 

Very  quietly,  while  Baby  William  was 
trying  to  make  one  stone  stay  on  top  of  an- 
other in  one  side  of  the  castle  he  was  making, 
Janet  stepped  up  to  the  flap  of  the  tent,  in- 
side which  her  mother  was  sitting  sewing. 

"I'm  going  with  Ted  and  Hal  into  the 
woods,"  said  the  little  girl.  "Will  you 
watch  Trouble,  Mother?" 

"Yes,  Janet.  But  be  careful,  and  don't 
go  too  far." 

Janet  did  not  answer  but  hurried  away. 
Of  course  she  did  not  do  just  right,  for  she 
knew  her  mother  would  not  want  her  to  go 
to  the  cave,  nor  would  Mrs.  Martin  have  let 
Ted  and  Hal  go  had  she  known  it.  But  the 


In  the  Cave  221 


Curlytops  and  Hal  were  very  desirous  of 
finding  the  blue  stones  and  of  seeing  if  there 
was  any  gold  in  them,  and  they  did  not  stop 
to  think  of  what  was  right  and  what  was 
wrong. 

"Hurry  up  now  I"  exclaimed  Hal  as  he 
went  on  ahead  up  the  path  that  led  from  be- 
hind the  tents  to  the  queer  cave.  ' '  We  want 
to  get  there  before  anybody  knows  it." 

"What '11  we  do  if  the  tramps  are  there?" 
asked  Ted. 

"They  won't  be  there,"  said  Hal,  though 
how  he  could  tell  that  he  did  not  say. 

"I've  got  a  little  hatchet  and  we  can  cut 
down  some  clubs,"  said  Ted.  He  had 
brought  with  him  a  little  Boy  Scout  hatchet, 
with  a  covering  over  the  sharp  blade.  His 
grandfather  had  given  it  to  Ted,  but  had 
told  him  never  to  take  it  out  alone.  But  Ted 
did,  and  this  was  another  wrong  thing. 

I'm  afraid  if  I  speak  of  all  the  wrong 
things  the  Curlytops  did  that  day  I'd  never 
finish  with  this  story.  But  it  wasn't  often 
they  did  so  many  acts  they  ought  not  to  have 
done. 

On  they  hurried  through  the  woods,  the 
boys  hurrying  ahead  of  Janet.  She  did  her 
best  to  keep  up  with  them,  but  her  legs  were 


222        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

shorter  than  Ted's  or  Hal's  and  it  was  hard 
work  for  the  little  girl. 

* i  Oh,  wait  for  me ! "  she  called  at  last.  ' '  I  'm 
awful  tired." 

"Hurry  up!"  begged  Ted.  "We  want  to 
get  the  blue  stones  before  the  tramps  take 
'em  away!" 

"Are  they  going  to?"  asked  Janet,  sit- 
ting down  on  a  stone  to  rest,  after  she  had 
caught  up  to  the  boys. 

"Well,  they  might,"  answered  Hal. 
"We've  got  to  hurry." 

They  went  on  again,  walking  a  little  more 
slowly  this  time,  and  when  they  came  to  i\ 
muddy  puddle  in  the  middle  of  the  wood- 
land path,  Ted  tried  to  jump  over  it.  But 
he  slipped  on  the  edge  and  one  leg,  from  his 
foot  to  above  his  knee,  got  very  wet  and 
muddy. 

"Oh,  wow!"  he  cried.  "Now  I've  got  to 
stop  and  clean  this  off." 

He  began  to  wipe  off  the  worst  of  the  mud 
on  bunches  of  grass,  while  Janet  sat  down  on 
a  log  near  by. 

"I'm  sorry  you  fell  in  the  mud,  Teddy," 
she  said,  "but  I'm  glad  I  can  rest,  for  I'm 
awful  tired.  You  go  so  fast!" 

"Come  on,  hurry  up!"  called  Hal,  as  Ted 


HAL  WALKED  BOLDLY   INTO  THE   DARK   CAVE. 

The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island  Page  224 


In  the  Cave 223 

still  brushed  away  with  the  bunch  of  grass. 
"Let  it  dry  and  it  will  come  off  easier. " 

"I  guess  it  will/7  agreed  Ted,  looking  at 
his  muddy  stocking.  * '  It  won 't  come  off  this 
way." 

However,  the  accident  had  given  his  sister 
a  little  chance  to  rest,  and  now  Janet  was 
able  to  keep  up  with  the  boys.  Pretty  soon 
they  were  near  the  hole  into  which  Ted  had 
fallen,  and  out  of  which  the  cave  opened. 

"Now  be  careful!"  whispered  Hal,  as  he 
got  out  his  flashlight.  "Maybe  the  tramps 
are  there!" 

"I've  got  my  hatchet!"  exclaimed  Ted. 

"I'm  not  going  in  if  the  tramps  are 
there,"  declared  Janet. 

"We'll  look  first,  and  see,"  offered  Hal. 

"But  I  don't  want  to  stay  here  alone!" 
objected  Janet,  as  her  brother  and  Hal  slid 
down  into  the  hole  and  looked  into  the  black 
opening  of  the  cave. 

"We  won't  go  very  far,"  promised  Ted. 
"We'll  be  back  in  a  minute.  Don't  be 
afraid." 

Then  he  and  Hal  went  into  the  cave,  while 
Jan,  half  wanting  to  cry,  waited  outside. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  BLUE  LIGHT  AGAIN 

FLASHING  his  light  about,  Hal  walked 
boldly  into  the  dark  cave.  Ted  followed, 
just  a  little  bit  afraid,  though  he  did  not 
want  to  say  so. 

"Don't  go  too  far,"  begged  Janet's 
brother.  "  Jan  '11  be  afraid  if  we  leave  her 
alone." 

*  *  I  won 't  go  far, ' '  promised  Hal.  * '  I  j  ust 
want  to  see  if  there 're  any  tramps  in  here." 

" Listen  an'  maybe  you  can  hear  them  talk- 
ing," suggested  Ted. 

Hal,  though  larger  and  older  than  Ted, 
was  not  quite  brave  enough  to  go  very  far 
into  the  dark  cave,  even  if  he  did  have  his 
light  with  him.  So,  after  taking  a  few  steps, 
he  stopped  and  listened.  So  did  Ted. 

They  could  hear  nothing  but  the  voice  of 
Janet  calling  to  them  from  outside. 

"Ted!    Hal!"    cried    the    little    girl. 

224 


V. 


The  Blue  Light  Again 225 

'  *  Where  are  you  ?   I  'm  going  back  to  camp  I ' ' 

' '  We  're  coming ! ' '  answered  Ted.  * i  Come 
on  back  and  get  her,"  he  added  to  his  chum. 
"Then  we'll  look  for  the  blue  rocks." 

"I  guess  we  can't  find  them  unless  they're 
right  around  here,"  returned  Hal,  as  he 
moved  his  light  about  in  a  circle. 
'Why  not?"  asked  Ted. 
'Because  this  cave  is  so  dark,  and  my 
flashlamp  doesn't  give   much  light.     We 
could  hardly  see  the  stones  if  they  were 
here.' 

"Then  how  are  we  going  to  get  'em?" 
Ted  demanded. 

"I  guess  we'll  have  to  bring  a  big  lantern. 
Maybe  we  ought  to  bring  your  grandfather 
along." 

"I  guess  we  had  better,"  agreed  Ted. 
"But  we  can  look  a  little  bit  when  we're  here. 
Let's  go  for  Janet.  She's  crying." 

Janet  was  crying  by  this  time,  not  liking 
to  be  left  alone  outside  while  the  boys  were 
in  the  cave.  They  ran  back  to  her  and  her 
tears  were  soon  dried. 

"Will  you  come  in  a  little  way  with  us?" 
asked  her  brother.  "There  isn't  anything 
to  be  afraid  of .  Is  there,  Hal?" 

"No,  not  a  thing.    We  won't  go  in  very 


226 


far,  Jan.  And  maybe  you  can  see  the  blue 
stones.  We  couldn't,  but  sometimes  girls* 
eyes  are  better  than  boys.  Come  on  1" 

So  with  Hal  holding  a  hand  on  one  side, 
and  Ted  on  the  other,  Janet  went  slowly 
into  the  cave  with  her  brother  and  his  chum. 
Hal  flashed  his  light,  and  by  its  gleam  the 
Curlytops  could  see  that  the  cave  was  large, 
larger  even  than  it  had  seemed  when  they 
were  in  it  with  their  grandfather. 

"Look  on  the  floor  for  the  rocks,"  sug- 
gested Hal.  "That's  where  the  tramp-man 
would  put  'em  if  he  brought  'em  here." 

But  they  did  not  see  the  blue  rocks,  nor 
any  others.  The  floor  of  the  cave  seemed  to 
be  of  stone  or  hard  clay,  and  there  was  noth- 
ing on  it.  They  did  not  go  in  far  enough 
to  see  the  sacks  which  Grandpa  Martin  said 
someone  had  used  for  a  bed,  nor  did  the 
children  see  the  bread  and  other  bits  of  food 
which  might  have  meant  that  someone  had 
had  a  picnic  in  the  cave. 

"I  guess  the  rocks  aren't  here,"  said  Hal, 
in  disappointed  tones  as  Janet  said  she 
wanted  to  turn  back,  for  she  did  not  like  it 
in  the  cave.  "Or  else  maybe  they're  away 
at  the  far  end." 

"I'm  not  going  there!"  exclaimed  Ted. 


The  Blue  Light  Again 227 

"No,  I  guess  we  won't  go,"  agreed  Hal. 
"We'll  go  and  tell  your  grandfather  and 
have  him  come  with  a  big  lantern." 

"Hark!  What's  that?"  suddenly  called 
Jan,  taking  a  tighter  hold  of  her  brother's 
hand. 

From  the  back  part  of  the  cave  came  a 
noise.  It  was  as  though  a  rock  had  fallen 
— probably  it  had — from  the  roof  of  the  cav- 
ern. 

"Someone's  throwing  stones  at  us!"  cried 
Ted. 

"Who?  Who?  Who?"  a  voice  seemed 
to  ask. 

' l  Oh,  dear !  We  don 't  know  who  it  was ! ' ' 
cried  Janet.  "Come  on  out  of  here!  I'm 
afraid!" 

"That  was  only  an  owl,"  said  Hal  with  a 
laugh.  "Owls  live  in  dark  caves  in  the  day- 
time and  when  it's  dark  they  hoot  and  call 
'who!'  I've  heard  'em  lots  of  times  around 
the  Home." 

"There  isn't  any  cave  at  the  Home,"  ob- 
jected Ted,  who  was  as  frightened  as  Janet 
was. 

"No,  but  there  were  owls  in  the  trees.  I 
heard  'em  lots  of  times.  But  well  go  out. 
I  guess  maybe  that  was  a  loose  stone  that  fell 


228        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Inland 

down  and  made  the  first  noise.  But  we  don 't 
want  any  to  fall  on  our  heads.  Come  on  I" 
called  Hal. 

Together  he  and  Ted  led  Janet  back  to  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  where  they  could  see  the 
sunshine.  And  even  Hal,  who  was  not  so 
frightened  as  the  Curlytops  had  been,  was 
glad  to  get  out. 

"It's  too  bad  we  couldn't  find  the  blue 
gold-stones,"  he  said.  "But  maybe  the 
tramps  didn't  hide  them  there,  anyhow. 
We'll  look  around  some  more." 

"Let's  eat,"  suggested  Ted.  "I'm  hun- 
gry, and  I've  got  a  lot  of  cookies  in  my  pock- 
ets." 

So  they  sat  down  on  a  stone  in  a  shady 
place  not  far  from  the  cave  and  ate  the 
things  Nora  had  given  Ted.  They  then  got 
a  drink  from  a  bubbling  spring  not  far 
away,  and  pretended  the}7"  were  on  a  picnic. 

Ted's  muddy  stocking  had  dried  by  this 
time,  and  he  and  Jan,  using  sticks,  scraped 
most  of  the  dirt  off. 

"Now  we'd  better  be  going  home,"  Jan 
suggested  after  a  bit.  "There  isn't  any  fun 
here." 

"Yes,  we  might  as  well  go,"  agreed  Hal. 
"And  I'll  tell  you  what  let's  do!" 


The  Blue  Light  Again 229 

"What?"  demanded  Ted. 

"Let's  look  in  the  place  where  Trouble 
found  those  blue  stones  and  see  if  we  can 
find  any  more." 

"Oh,  yes,  let's!"  cried  Janet.  She  was 
happy  again,  now  that  she  was  out  in  the 
bright  sunshine. 

The  children  remembered  where  Baby 
William  had  found  the  pretty  rocks  from 
which  he  had  made  his  castle,  but  when  they 
reached  the  place  not  a  one  was  to  be  had, 
though  they  searched  all  about. 

"I  guess  Trouble  took  them  all,"  said 
Janet.  '  *  I  remember  now,  I  helped  him  look 
for  more  and  we  couldn't  find  any." 

"Well,  maybe  there'll  be  some  more  some- 
where else,"  suggested  Hal  hopefully. 
"Let's  look." 

So  they  looked,  wandering  about  in  the 
woods  not  far  from  camp,  until  they  heard 
Nora  ringing  the  bell  for  dinner. 

'''Well,  where  have  you  children  been?" 
asked  Mrs.  Martin  as  they  came  trooping 
up  to  the  tent,  tired,  hungry  and  dirty. 

"Oh,  we've  been  looking  for  gold,"  ex- 
plained Ted,  but  he  did  not  say  they  had  vis- 
ited the  cave,  where  they  had  been  told  not 
to  go. 


230 


"You  didn't  dig  any  more  deep  holes,  did 
you?"  asked  his  grandfather. 

"No,  sir,"  answered  Ted. 

After  dinner  Ted  asked  Hal  why  he 
didn't  speak  of  having  Grandpa  Martin  go 
to  the  cave  with  the  big  lantern. 

"I  thought  you  were  going  to  do  that," 
he  said  to  Hal. 

"Well,  I  was.  But  maybe  we  can  find 
some  more  of  the  blue  stones  for  ourselves. 
We'll  look  around  before  we  ask  your 
grandpa  to  help." 

Janet  wanted  to  stay  around  camp  and 
play  with  her  dolls  that  afternoon,  and  she 
took  care  of  Trouble. 

"Then  we'll  go  for  a  goat  ride,"  said  Ted. 
"Come  on,  Hal." 

The  two  boys  hitched  Nicknack  to  the 
wagon,  and  set  off  down  the  island. 

"We'll  look  for  some  more  blue  rocks," 
suggested  Hal,  and  Ted  was  willing. 

On  and  on  the  two  boys  rode,  now  stop- 
ping to  look  at  some  pretty  flower,  again 
waiting  to  hear  the  finish  of  some  bird's 
song.  They  looked  on  both  sides  of  the 
woodland  path  for  some  of  the  blue  rocks, 
but,  though  they  saw  some  of  other  colors, 
there  were  none  like  those  they  wanted. 


The  Blue  Light  Again 231 

"Whoa  there,  where  are  you  going  now?" 
Ted  suddenly  called  to  Nicknack,  and  the  lit- 
tle boy  pulled  on  the  reins  by  which  he 
guided  the  goat — or  " steered"  it,  as  he  some- 
times called  it. 

" What's  the  matter?"  asked  Hal. 

"Nicknack  wants  to  go  over  that  way  and 
I  want  him  to  go  straight  ahead,"  answered 
Ted. 

"Maybe  he  sees  some  of  those  blue  rocks 
the  way  he  wants  to  go,"  suggested  Hal. 

"Oh,  I  don't  guess  so,"  replied  his  chum. 
"I  guess  he  just  wants  to  get  some  new  kind 
of  grass  to  eat.  Whoa,  Nicknack,  I  tell 
you !"  and  Teddy  pulled  as  hard  as  he  could 
on  the  reins,  without  hurting  his  goat,  for 
he  never  wanted  to  do  that. 

But  the  goat  would  not  go  straight  down 
the  island  path.  He  kept  pulling  off  to  one 
side,  and  at  last  Ted  cried : 

"Here,  Hal,  you  take  hold  of  the  lines  and 
pull  with  me.  Maybe  we  can  steer  him 
around  then." 

"Can  we  pull  real  hard — I  mean  will  the 
lines  break?"  asked  Hal. 

"Oh,  no,  they're  good  and  strong,"  an- 
1  wered  Ted. 

So  he  and  his  chum  both  pulled  on  the  one 


•J32        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

rein — the  one  to  get  Nicknack?s  head  pointed 
straight  down  the  path  instead  of  off  to  one 
side,  but  it  did  no  good.  The  goat  knew  what 
he  wanted  to  do,  and  he  was  going  to  do  it. 

"Look  out!"  suddenly  cried  Teddy. 
"We're  going  to  tip  over!" 

The  next  minute  the  front  wheels  of  the 
wagon  ran  up  on  a  little  pile  of  dirt  at  one 
side  of  the  path,  and  the  cart  gently  tilted  to 
one  side  and  then  went  over  with  a  rattle  and 
a  bang. 

"There!"  laughed  Hal,  as  he  rolled  out 
on  some  soft  grass.  "We  are  over,  Ted. " 

"I  knew  we  were  going,"  said  Teddy  as 
he,  too,  laughed  and  got  up.  "Whoa  there, 
Nicknack !"  he  shouted,  for  the  goat  was  still 
going  on,  dragging  the  overturned  wagon 
after  him. 

But  Nicknack  did  not  stop  until  he 
reached  a  little  bush,  on  which  were  some 
green  leaves  that  he  seemed  to  like  very 
much,  for  he  began  to  chew  them. 

"That's  what  he  wanted  all  the  while," 
said  Teddy. 

"Well,  let  him  eat  all  he  wants,  and  then 
he  won't  be  hungry  any  more  and  he'll  pull 
us  where  we  want  to  go,"  advised  Hal. 

They  did  this,  after  setting  the  cart  up  on 


The  Blue  Light  Again 233 

its  wheels.    When  Mcknack  turned  away 
from  the  bush,  and  looked  at  the  two  wait- 
ing boys,  Ted  said : 
"Well,  I  guess  we  can  go  on  now." 
"Yes,"  added  Hal,  "and  I  hope  we'll  find 
those  blue  rocks.    But  I  don't  believe  we're 
ever  going  to." 

At  last,  however,  when  it  was  getting 
rather  late  in  the  afternoon  and  Ted  had  said 
it  was  time  to  go  back,  Hal,  who  was  driv- 
ing the  goat  through  a  part  of  the  woods 
they  never  before  had  visited,  pointed  to  a 
big  stone  buried  in  the  side  of  a  hill  and 
cried : 

"Look!    Isn't  that  rock  blue,  Ted?" 
"It  does  look  kind  of  blue,  yes." 
"Then  it's  just  what  we're  looking  for. 
See,  there's  lots  of  little  blue  rocks,  too. 
Let's  take   some  back  to   camp.     Maybe 
they're  the  same  kind  Trouble  had,  and  there 
may  be  gold  in  'em!    Come  on." 

They  piled  the  rocks,  which  were  certainly 
somewhat  blue  in  color,  into  the  wagon,  and 
started  back  with  them. 

"We  found  'em!    We  found  'em!"  they 
called  as  they  came  within  sight  of  the  tents. 
"We  got  the  blue  rocks!" 
"Well,  they're  pretty,  certainly,"  said 


234        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

Grandpa  Martin,  as  he  picked  up  one  from 
the  wagon,  "but  they're  no  better  than  any 
other  rocks  around  here,  as  far  as  I  can 


see/ 


"They  Ve  got  gold  in  'em,  Hal  says,"  Ted 
stated. 

"Gold?  Oh,  no,  Curly  top!"  laughed  his 
grandfather.  "  I  Ve  told  you  there  is  no  gol  d 
on  this  island." 

"There's  something  in  the  blue  rocks," 
declared  Hal.  "Feel  how  heavy  they  are- 
lots  heavier  than  any  other  stones  around 
here." 

"Yes,  they  are,"  agreed  Grandpa  Martin, 
as  he  weighed  one  of  the  stones  in  his  hand. 
"There  might  be  some  iron  in  them,  but  not 
gold.  Look  out!"  he  suddenly  called  as  the 
stone  slipped  from  his  hand.  "Look  out  for 
your  toes!" 

Laughing,  the  Curlytops  and  Hal  jumped 
back.  The  blue  stone  which  Grandpa  Mar- 
tin dropped,  struck  on  the  edge  of  the  shovel 
which  was  out  in  front  of  the  tent.  As  the 
rock  hit  the  steel  tool  with  a  clang,  some- 
thing queer  happened. 

At  once  the  rock  began  to  burn  with  a 
curious  blue  flame,  and  a  yellowish  smoke 
curled  up. 


The  Blue  Light  Again  235 

"Oh,  the  rock's  on  fire!"  cried  Janet. 
"The  rock's  on  fire!" 

"Yes,  and  look !"  added  Ted.  "It's  burn- 
ing blue,  just  like  the  light  we  saw  on  the 
island  one  night." 

"And  how  queer  it  smells!"  exclaimed 
Hal. 

"Sulphur!"  ejaculated  Grandpa  Martin. 

He  and  the  children  looked  at  tHe  queer 
blue  fire  that  seemed  to  come  from  inside 
the  rock.  What  could  it  mean? 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  HAPPY  TRAMP 

GRANDPA  MARTIN  stood  looking  down  at 
the  queer,  burning  rock.  The  blue  fire  was 
flaming  up  brighter  now,  and  it  made  a 
strange  light  on  the  faces  of  the  Curlytops 
and  Hal  as  they  gathered  about.  The  sky 
was  cloudy  and  it  was  getting  dark. 

1 '  Oh,  what  is  it  ?  What  is  it  T '  asked  Ted 
and  Jan. 

"It  smells  just  like  old-fashioned  sulphur 
matches  that  my  grandmother  used  to  light, " 
said  Nora,  who  had  come  out,  having  seen 
the  queer  light  from  the  cook-tent. 

"And  it  is  sulphur  that  is  burning, "  said 
Grandpa  Martin.  "That  rock  has  sulphur 
in  it,  not  gold,  Hal.  And  it  is  the  sulphur 
that  is  burning  with  the  blue  fire." 

"But  what  makes  it  ?"  asked  the  children. 

Grandpa  Martin  did  not  answer  for  a  few 
seconds.  He  stood  again  looking  down  at 

M 


The  Happy  Tramp 237 

the  flaming  blue  rock.  Mrs.  Martin,  who  had 
started  to  put  Trouble  to  bed  early,  came  out 
and  looked. 

"It's  like  something  I  once  saw  in  the 
theater, "  said  the  maid.  "I  don't  like  it — 
that  blue  light.  It  reminds  me  of  the  time 
our  house  was  struck  by  lightning — that  sul- 
phur smell." 

"It  is  the  same  smell,"  said  Mr.  Martin. 
"Curlytops,  I  think  you  have  found  some- 
thing very  queer  in  this  blue  rock.  I  don't 
know  just  what  it  is,  but  we'll  find  out.  See, 
the  stone  is  burning  lL:e  a  lump  of  coal  now, 
but  with  a  blue  flame  instead  of  red." 

"Jus*  like  the  night  we  saw  the  blue  fire 
on  the  island  before  we  came  camping  here," 
said  Ted.  "  Is  it  the  same  thing,  Grandpa  ? ' ' 

* '  I  don 't  know.  Perhaps  it  is.  Where  did 
you  get  Lhe  blue  rocks?" 

"Over  in  the  woods,"  answered  Hal. 
"There's  a  great  big  one  there.  As  big  as 
this  tent." 

"Is  there?"  some  one  suddenly  asked. 
"Then  please  sliow  me  where  it  is !  Oh,  can 
it  be  that  at  last  I  have  found  what  I  have 
been  looking  for  so  long?" 

The  Curlytops  and  the  others  turned  at 
the  sound  of  this  new  and  strange  voice.  A 


238        The  Curly  tops  on  Star  Island 

man  seemed  to  spring  out  of  the  bushes  back 
of  the  tent.  By  the  light  of  the  blue  fire  Ted 
and  Jan  saw  that  his  clothes  were  ragged 
and  torn  in  many  places. 

"Oh!  Oh!"  gasped  Jan.  "That's  the 
tramp!" 

"Well,  I  guess  maybe  I  do  look  like  a 
tramp,  all  ragged  and  dirty  as  I  am," 
laughed  the  man,  and  his  voice  sounded 
pleasant.  "But  I  am  not  a  regular  tramp. 
I  am  Mr.  Weston — Alfred  Weston,"  he  went 
on,  speaking  to  Grandpa  Martin.  "I 
haven't  a  card  with  me,  but  when  I  get 
washed  and  dressed  and  shaved  I'll  look 
more  like  what  I  am.  Excuse  me  for  intrud- 
ing this  way,  but  I  could  not  keep  from 
speaking  when  I  heard  what  you  were  talk- 
ing about." 

"Then  aren't  you  a  tramp  *?"  asked  Ted. 

"No,  though  I  have  been  tramping  all 
over  this  island  looking  for  the  very  blue 
rock  you  children  seem  to  have  found.  I 
wear  my  oldest  clothes,  just  as  my  friend 
Professor  Anderson  does,  for  we  have  been 
going  through  briar  bushes,  into  caves  and 
mud  holes  and  our  clothes  are  a  sad  sight. 
But  we  are  not  tramps." 

"Is   there   someone   with   you?"   asked 


The  Happy  Tramp 239 

Grandpa  Martin,  looking  over  the  man's 
head  toward  the  bushes,  out  of  which  he  had 
come. 

"There  was  another.  Anderson  is  his 
name.  But  he  has  gone  to  the  village,  and 
I  was  on  my  way  to  row  across  the  lake  to 
join  him  when  I  happened  to  pass  by  your 
tent,  saw  the  blue  light,  and  heard  what  your 
children  said.  Do  you  really  know  where 
there  is  a  big  blue  rock  like  this  little  one 
that  is  on  fire?"  he  asked  as  he  pointed  to 
the  flaming  blue  light. 

"Yes,  we  found  a  big  one,"  said  Hal. 

"If  you  will  show  me  where  it  is  you  will 
get  a  lot  of  money,"  said  Mr.  Weston. 
"That  is,  if  you  will  sell  me  the  meteor,"  he 
went  on  to  Grandpa  Martin.  ' 1 1  understand 
you  own  part  of  this  island,"  he  added. 

"About  half  of  it,  yes.  But  are  you  look- 
ing for  a  meteor?" 

"Yes,  for  a  meteor,  or  fallen  star,  and  the 
blue  rock  your  children  found  is  part  of  it. 
We  have  been  looking  for  it  a  long  time,  my 
friend  and  myself,  and  we  had  about  given 
up.  Now  we  may  get  it.  Will  you  sell  me 
the  fallen  star?"  he  asked. 

"I'll  see  about  it,"  promised  Mr.  Martin 
with  a  smile.  "Perhaps  you  will  come  into 


•240        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Inland 

our  tent  and  tell  us  about  it.  Are  you — well, 
I  was  going  to  say  the  tramp — but  are  you 
the  man  we  saw  before,  wandering  about  our 
camp?'' 

"I  presume  I  am.  I  don't  mind  being 
called  a  tramp,  for  I  certainly  look  like  one. 
However,  now  that  the  fallen  star  is  found  I 
don't  need  to  be  so  ragged." 

"Are  you  the  ragged  man  that  pulled 
Trouble  out  of  the  spring?"  asked  Ted,  as 
they  watched  the  blue  light  die  away. 

"I  did  pull  a  little  boy  out  of  the  spring," 
answered  Mr.  Weston,  "though  I  didn't 
know  his  name  was  Trouble." 

"That's  only  his  pet  name,"  laughed 
Grandpa  Martin.  "But  come  and  sit  down 
and  tell  us  your  story.  The  children  have 
been  wondering  a  long  while  what  the  blue 
.light  meant,  and  who  the  ragged  man  was. 
And,  to-day,  they've  been  trying  to  find  what 
became  of  the  blue  rocks  that  Trouble  made 
into  a  playhouse." 

"I  took  those  rocks,  I'm  sorry  to  say,"  an- 
swered the  ragged  man.  "  I  'm  sorry  to  have 
spoiled  Trouble 's  playhouse.  I  wanted  those 
pieces  of  rock,  for  I  thought  perhaps  they 
were  all  I  would  ever  be  able  to  get  of  the 
fallen  star." 


The  Happy  Tramp 241 

"Was  the  blue  rock  really  once  a  star?" 
asked  Hal. 

"Well,  yes,  a  part  of  one,  or  at  least  part 
of  a  meteor,  or  shooting  star,  as  they  are 
called.  Now  I'll  tell  you  all  that  happened, 
and  I  'm  sorry  if  I  have  frightened  you.  My 
friend  and  I  didn't  mean  to. 

"Some  time  ago,"  went  on  Mr.  Weston, 
"we  heard  about  Star  Island — this  place 
that  was  so  named  because  it  was  said  a  big 
meteor  had  landed  here  many  years  back. 
Professor  Anderson  and  I  decided  to  come 
here  and  see  if  we  could  find  it  for  the  mu- 
seum which  is  connected  with  the  college  in 
which  Anderson  teaches. 

"For  we  knew  that,  though  most  meteors 
are  burned  up  as  they  shoot  through  the  air 
before  they  strike  the  earth,  yet  some  come 
down  in  big  chunks,  and  we  wanted  such  a 
one  if  we  could  get  it.  So  we  hunted  for  it 
all  over  this  island.  We  saw  you,  but  you 
were  never  very  near.  Sometimes  we  stayed 
in  the  cave  at  night,  but  usually  went  back  to 
the  mainland.  All  the  while  we  were  hunt- 
ing for  the  blue  rocks,  for  that  is  the  color 
of  this  particular  meteor. 

"A  few  nights  before  you  folks  came  here 
to  camp,  when  we  were  digging  in  the 


242 


ground  hoping  to  find  what  we  wanted,  our 
shovel  must  have  struck  a  piece  of  the  me- 
teor, for  there  was  a  flash  of  blue  fire  that 
burned  for  quite  a  while. " 

"We  saw  it,"  cried  Ted,  "and  we  didn't 
know  what  it  was!" 

"Teddy  and  me — we  saw  it!"  added  Jan. 

"Well,  that  was  all  of  the  meteor  we  could 
find  for  some  time,"  went  on  Mr.  Weston. 
"And  as  that  burned  up — was  consumed — 
we  didn't  have  any.  Then,  the  other  night 
through  the  bushes  we  happened  to  come 
upon  some  blue  stones,  and  I  took  them 
away. 

"Then  my  friend  and  I  hunted  again  to 
find  the  big  piece  of  the  fallen  star,  but  we 
could  not  come  across  it.  I  was  about  to 
give  up,  but  now  we  are  all  right.  I  am  so 
glad!  Can  you  take  me  to  the  big  blue 
rock?" 

"We  will  to-morrow,"  answered  Hal. 
"It's  too  dark  to  find  it  now." 

"You  had  better  stay  in  our  camp  until 
morning,"  was  Grandpa  Martin's  kindly  in- 
vitation, and  Mr.  Weston  did  so. 

"This  meteor  is  a  good  bit  like  a  sulphur 
match, ' '  said  Mr.  Weston.  ' '  When  anything 
hard,  like  iron  or  steel,  strikes  it,  blue  fire 


The  Happy  Tramp 243 

starts  and  burns  up  the  rock.  The  big  piece 
will  be  very  valuable. 

"But  we'll  have  to  be  careful  not  to  set  it 
ablaze.  We  picked  up  a  lot  of  different  rocks 
on  the  island,  hoping  some  of  them  might  be 
pieces  of  the  meteor.  But  none  was.  Once 
I  saw  your  little  girl  picking  flowers,  as  I 
was  gathering  rocks.  I  guess  she  thought  I 
was  a  tramp.  Did  I  scare  you?'1  he  asked 
Janet. 

"A  little,"  she  answered  with  a  smile. 

"Sometimes  we  stayed  in  a  cave  we  found 
on  the  island,"  went  on  Mr.  Weston.  "I 
thought  once  the  meteor  might  be  there,  but 
it  was  not." 

The  next  day  Ted,  Janet  and  Hal,  fol- 
lowed by  all  the  others  in  camp,  even  down 
to  Trouble,  whose  mother  carried  him,  went 
to  the  place  where  the  big  blue  rock  was 
buried  in  the  side  of  the  hill.  As  soon  as  he 
had  looked  at  it  Mr.  Weston  said  it  was  the 
very  meteor  for  which  he  and  Professor  An- 
derson had  been  looking  so  long.  They 
seemed  to  have  missed  coming  to  the  hill. 

The  museunj  directors  bought  the  fallen 
star  from  Grandpa  Martin,  on  whose  part 
of  the  island  it  had  fallen  many  years  be- 
fore, and  so  the  owner  of  Cherry  Farm  had 


244        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

as  much  money  as  before  the  flood  spoiled  so 
many  of  his  crops. 

Thus  the  story  of  the  fallen  star,  after 
which  the  island  was  named,  was  true,  you 
see,  though  it  had  happened  so  many  years 
ago  that  most  folk  had  forgotten  about  it. 

A  few  days  after  Mr.  Weston  had  been  led 
to  the  queer  blue  rock,  he  and  Professor  An- 
derson, no  longer  dressed  like  tramps, 
brought  some  men  to  the  island  and  the  big 
rock  was  carefully  dug  out  with  wooden 
shovels,  as  the  wood  was  soft  and  could  not 
strike  sparks  and  make  blue  fire. 

"For  a  time/'  said  Mr.  Weston  to  Grand- 
pa Martin,  after  the  meteor  had  been  taken 
to  the  mainland  in  a  big  boat,  "I  thought  you 
were  a  scientist. " 

"Me — a  scientist !"  laughed  the  children's 
grandfather. 

"Yes.  I  thought  maybe  you  had  heard 
about  the  fallen  star  and  had  come  here  and 
were  trying  to  find  it,  too." 

"No,  I  haven't  any  use  for  fallen  stars," 
said  Mr.  Martin.  "I  had  heard  the  story 
about  one  being  on  this  island,  but  I  never 
quite  believed  it.  I  just  came  here  to  give 
the  children  a  good  time  camping." 

"Well,  I  think  they  had  it — every  one  of 


The  Happy  Tramp  245 

them,"  laughed  Mr.  Weston,  as  he  looked  at 
the  brown  Curlytops,  who  were  tanned  like 
Indians. 

"Oh,  weVe  had  the  loveliest  time  in  the 
world!"  cried  Jan,  as  she  held  her  grand- 
father's hand.  "We're  going  to  stay  here 
a  long  while  yet.  Aren't  we,  Grandpa?" 

"Well,  I'm  afraid  not  much  longer,"  said 
Grandpa  Martin.  "The  days  are  getting 
shorter  and  the  nights  longer.  It  will  soon 
be  too  cold  to  live  in  a  tent  on  Star  Island." 

* l  Oh,  Grandpa ! ' '   And  Jan  looked  sad. 

"But  we  want  to  have  fun!"  cried  Ted. 

"Oh,  I  guess  you'll  have  fun,"  said  his 
mother.  "You  always  do  every  winter." 

And  the  children  did.  In  the  next  volume 
of  this  series,  to  be  called  "The  Curlytops 
Snowed  In ;  or,  Grand  Fun  with  Skates  and 
Sleds,"  you  may  read  about  the  good  times 
they  had  when  they  went  back  home. 

"Come  on,  Jan,  we'll  have  a  last  ride  with 
Nicknack!"  called  Ted  to  his  sister  about  a 
week  after  the  meteor  had  been  dug  up.  In 
a  few  days  the  Curlytops  were  to  leave  their 
camp  on  Star  Island.  Hal  Chester  had  gone 
back  to  his  home,  promising  to  visit  his 
friends  again  some  day. 

"I'm  coming!"  cried  Jan. 


246        The  Curlytops  on  Star  Island 

"Me,  too!"  added  Trouble.  "I  wants  a 
wide!" 

Into  the  goat  cart  they  piled  and  off 
started  Nicknack,  waggling  his  funny, 
stubby  tail,  for  he  enjoyed  the  children  as 
much  as  they  did  him. 

"Hurray  I"  yelled  Ted.  "Isn't  this  fun f  " 
and  he  cracked  the  whip  in  the  air. 

"Hurray!"  yelled  Jan  and  Trouble. 

"Baa-a-a-a!"  bleated  Nicknack.  That 
was  his  way  of  cheering. 

And  so  we  will  leave  the  Curlytops  and  say 
good-bye. 

THE  END 


THE  CURLYTOPS  SERIES 

BY"  HOWARD   R.  GARIS 

Author  of  the  famous  "Bedtime  Animal  Stories" 

J2mo.     Cloth.    Beautifully  Illustrated.    Jacket  in  full  color. 
Price  per  volume,. 80  cents,  net 


Splendid  stories  for  the  little  girls  and 
boys,  told  by  one  who  is  a  past  master  in 
the-  art  of  entertaining  young  people. 

THE  CURLYTOPS  AT  CHERRY  FARM 

or  Vacation  Days  in  the  Country 

A  tale  of  happy  vacation  days  on  a  farm. 
The  Curlytops  have  many  exciting  adven- 
tures. 


THE  CURLYTOPS  ON   STAR  ISLAND 

or  Camping  out  with  Grandpa 

The  Curlytops  were  delighted  when  grandpa  took  them  to  camp 
on  Star  Island.  There  they  had  great  fun  and  also  helped  to 
solve  a  real  mystery. 

THE  CURLYTOPS  SNOWED  IN 

or  Grand  Fun  with  Skates  and  Sleds 

Winter  was  a  jolly  time  for  the  Curlytops,  with  their  skates 
and  sleds,  but  when  later  they  were  snowed  in  they  found  many 
new  ways  to  enjoy  themselves. 

THE  CURLYTOPS  AT  UNCLE  FRANK'S  RANCH 

or  Little  Folks  on  Pony  Back 

Out  West  on  their  uncle's  ranch  they  have  a  wonderful  time 
among  the  cowboys  and  on  pony  back. 

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THE  RUBY  AND  RUTHY  SERIES 


Bv    MINNIE   E.   PAULL 


izmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    Price  per  volume,  .80  cents,  postpaid. 


Four  bright  and  entertaining  stories  told 
in  Mrs.  Paull's  happiest  manner  are  among 
the  best  stories  ever  written  for  young  girls, 
and  cannot  fail  to  interest  any  between  the 
ages  of  eight  and  fifteen  years. 

RUBY  AND  RUTHY 

Ruby  and  Ruthie  were  not  old  enough  to 
go  to  school,  but  they  certainly  were  lively 
enough  to  have  many  exciting  adventures, 
that  taught  many  useful  lessons  needed  to 
be  learned  by  little  girls. 


RUBY'S  UPS  AND  DOWNS 

There  were  troubles  enough  for  a  dozen  grown-ups,  but  Ruby 
got  a"head  of  them  all,  and,  in  spite  of  them,  became  a  favorite 
in  the  lively  times  at  school. 


RUBY  AT  SCHOOL 

Ruby  had  many  surprises  when  she  went  to  the  impossible  place 
she  heard  called  a  boarding  school,  but  every  experience  helped 
to  make  her  a  stronger-minded  girl. 


RUBY'S   VACATION 

This  volume  shows  how  a  little  girl  improves  by  having  varie- 
ties of  experience  both  happy  and  unhappy,  provided  she  thinks, 
and  is  able  to  use  her  good  sense.  Ruby  lives  and  learns. 


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THE  DAVE  DASHAWAY 
SERIES 

By  ROY  ROCKWOOD 

Author  of  the  "Speedwell  Boys  Series"  and  the  "Great  Marvel  Series." 
12mo.      Illustrated.      Price  per  volume,  J80  cents,    postpaid. 


Never  was  there  a  more  clever  young  aviator  than  Dave 
jDashaway.  All  up-to-date  lads  will  surely  wish  to  rjad 
/about  him. 


DAVE  DASHAWAY  THF  YOUNG  AVIATOR 

or  In   the   Clouds  for  Fame  and  Fortune 

This  initial  volume  tells  how  the  hero  ran 
away  from  his  miserly  guardian,  fell  in  with 
a  successful  airman,  and  became  a  young 
aviator  of  note. 

DAVE  DASHAWAY  AND  His 
HYDROPLANE 

or  Daring  Adventures  Over   the   Great  Lakes 

Showing  how  Dave  continued  his  career  as  a  birdman  and 
had  many  adventures  over  the  Great  Lakes,  and  how  he 
foiled  the  plans  of  some  Canadian  smugglers.. 

DAVE  DASHAWAY  AND  His  GIANT  AIRSHIP 

or  A  Marvellous  Trip  Across  the  Atlantic 

How  the  giant  airship  was  constructed  and  how  the  daring 
young  aviator  and  his  friends  made  the  hazardous  journey 
through  the  clouds  from  the  new  world  to  the  old,  is  told  in  a 
way  to  hold  the  reader  spellbound. 

DAVE  DASHAWAY  AROUND  THE  WORLD 

or  A    Young   Yankee  Aviator  Among  Many  Nations 

An  absorbing  tale  of  a  great  air  flight  around  the  world, 
of  adventures  in  Alaska,  Siberia  and  elsewhere.  A  true  to 
life  picture  of  what  may  be  accomplished  in  the  near  future. 

DAVE  DASHAWAY:  AIR  CHAMPION 

or  Wizard  Work  in  the  Clouds 

Dave  makes  several  daring  trips,  and  then  enters  a  contest 
for  a  big  prize.  An  aviation  taie  thrilling  in  the  extreme. 


CUPPLES  &  LEON  CO.,  Publishers, 


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THE  TOM  FAIRFIELD  SERIES 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 

Author  of  tke  "Fred  Fcnton  Athletic  Series,"  "The  Boys  of  Pluck  Series," 
and  "The  Darewell  Chums  Series." 

12mo.      Illustrated.      Price   per  volume,  .80  cents,    postpaid. 


Tom  Fairfield  is  a  typical  American  lad,  full  ef  life  and 
energy,  a  boy  who  believes  in  doing  things.  To  know  Tom  is 
to  love  him. 

TOM    FAIRFIELD'S  SCHOOLDAYS 

or  The  Chums  of  Elmwood  Hall 

Tells  of  how  Tom  started  for  school, 
of  the  mystery  surrounding  one  of  the 
Hall  seniors,  and  of  how  the  hero  went 
to  the  rescue.  The  first  book  in  a  line 
that  is  bound  to  become  decidedly  popular. 

TOM  FAIRFIELD  AT  SEA 

or  The  Wreck  of  the  Silver  Star 

Tom's  parents  had  gone  to  Australia  and  then  been  cast 
away  somewhere  in  the  Pacific.  Tom  set  out  to  find  them  and 
was  himself  cast  away.  A  thrilling  picture  of  the  perils  ef 
the  deep. 

TOM  FAIRFIELD  IN  CAMP 

or  The  Secret  of  the  Old  Mill 

The  boys  decided  to  go  camping,  and  located  near  an  old 
mill.  A  wild  man  resided  there  and  he  made  it  decidedly  lively 
for  Tom  and  his  chums.  The  secret  of  the  old  mill  adds  to  the 
interest  of  the  volume. 

TOM   FAIRFIELD'S  PLUCK  AND   LUCK 

or  Working  to  Clear  His  Name 

While  Tom  was  back  at  school  some  of  his  enemies  tried 
to  get  him  into  trouble.  Something  unusual  occurred  and  Tom 
was  suspected  of  a  crime.  How  he  set  to  work  to  clear  his 
name  is  told  in  a  manner  to  interest  all  young  readers. 

TOM   FAIRFIELD'S   HUNTING  TRIP 

or   Lost   in    the    Wilderness 

Tom  was  only  a  schoolboy,  but  he  loved  to  use  a  shotgun 
er  a  rifle.  In  this  volume  we  meet  him  on  a  hunting  trip  full 
ef  outdoor  life  and  good  times  around  the  camp-fire. 


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THE    BOYS9   OUTING    LIBRARY 

ismo.     Chth.    Illustrated.    Jacket  in  full  color. 
Price,  per  volume,  .80  centf,  postpaid. 

THE  SADDLE  BOYS  SERIES 


BY  CAPT.  JAMES  CARSON 

The  Saddle  Boys  of  the  Rockies 
The  Saddle  Boys  in  the  Grand  Canyon 
The  Saddle  Boys  on  the  Plains 
The  Saddle  Boys  at  Circle  Ranch 
The  Saddle  Boys  on  Mexican  Trails 

THE  DAVE  DASHAWAY  SERIES 


BY    ROY    ROCKWOOD 

Dave  Dashaway  the  Young  Aviator 
Dave  Dashaway  and  His  Hydroplane 
Dave  Dashaway  and  His  Giant  Airship 
Dave  Dashaway  Around  the  World 
Dave  Dashaway:  Air  Champion 

THE  SPEEDWELL  BOYS  SERIES 


Bv    ROY    ROCKWOOD 

The  Speedwell  Boys  on  Motorcycles 

The  Speedwell  Boys  and  Their  Racing  Auto 

The  S pee Q well  Boys  and  Their  Power  Launch 

The  Speedwell  Boys  in  a  Submarine 

The  Speedwell  Boys  and  Their  Ice  Racer 

THE  TOM  FAIRFIELD  SERIES 


BY  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 


Tom  Fairfield's  School  Days 
Tom  Fairfield  at  Sea 


Tom  Fairfield  in  Camp 

Tom  Fairfield's  Pluck  and  Luck 


Tom  Fairfield's  Hunting  Trip 
THE  FRED  FENTON  ATHLETIC  SERIES 


BY  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 


Fred  Fenton  the  Pitcher 
Fred  Fenton  in  the  Line 


Fred  Fenton  on  the  Crew 
Fred  Fenton  on  the  Track 


Fred  Fenton:  Marathon  Runner 
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THE    RUTH    FIELDING   SERIES 

BY  ALICE    B.    EMERSON 

Illustrated.    Price  per  volume,  .80  cents,  postpaid. 

Ruth  Fielding  wa*  an  orphan  and 
came  to  live  with  her  i.iiserly  uncle.  Her 
adventures  and  travels  make  stories  that 
will  hold  the  interest  of  every  reader. 

RUTH    FIELDING    OF   THE    RED    MILL 

or  Jasper  Parloe's  Secret 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  BRIARWOOD  HALL 

or  Solving  the   Campus  Mystery 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  SNOW  CAMP 

or  Lost  in  the  Backwoods 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  LIGHTHOUSE  POINT 

or  Nita,  the  Girl  Castaway 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  SILVER  RANCH 

or  Schoolgirls  Among  the  Cowboys 
RUTH  FIELDING  ON  CLIFF  ISLAND 

or  The  Old  Hunter's  Treasure  Box 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  SUNRISE  FARM 

or  What  Became  of  the  Raby  Orplians 
RUTH  FIELDING  AND  THE  GYPSIES 

or  The  Missing  Pearl  Necklace 
RUTH  FIELDING  IN  MOVING  PICTURES 

or  Helping  the  Dormitory  Fund 
RUTH  FIELDING  DOWN  IN  DIXIE 

or  Great  Days  in  the  Land  of  Cotton 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  COLLEGE 

or  The  Missing  Examination  Papers 
RUTH  FIELDING  IN  THE  SADDLE 

or  College  Girls  in  the  Land  of  Gold 
RUTH  FIELDING  IN  THE  RED  CROSS 

or  Doing  Her  Bit  for  Uncle  Sam 
RUTH  FIELDING  AT  THE  WAR  FRONT 

or  The  Hunt  for  a  Lost  Soldier 
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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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